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LIFE  AND  PUBLIC  SERVICES 

OF 


THE  LIFE  AND  SERVICES 

OF    THE 

HON.  miLLARD  FILLMORE. 


SmbellfsftcH  toft&  Numerous 


HARTFORD: 
BELKNAP    &    HAMERSLEY. 

1848. 


Stagier  mt&  JFiUmorc. 


LIFE  AND  PUBLIC  SERVICES 

OF 


ALSO, 


THE  LIFE  AND  SERVICES 

OF    THE 

HON.  MILLARD  FILLMORE, 


toftf)  ^Numerous 


HARTFORD: 

BELKNAP   &    HAMERSLEY. 

1848. 


•a, 

a  3 


ENTERED  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1848,  by 

BELKNAP  &  HAMERSLEY, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Connecticut. 


LIFE  OF  TAYLOR. 


MONG  the  distinguished  military 
^commanders  who  have  signalized 
themselves  in  the  annals  of  our 
country,  by  consummate  ability, 
lofty  patriotism  and  eminent  ser 
vices,  few  will  bear  comparison 
with  the  subject  of  the  present 
memoir. 

GENERAL  ZACHARY  TAYLOR  was 
born  in  Orange  county,  Virginia, 
in  November,  1784.  His  father, 
Colonel  Richard  Taylor,  soon 
after  the  birth  of  Zachary,  re 
moved  his  residence  to  Kentucky, 
and  settled  near  Louisville. 

At  the  age  of  six  years,  Zachary  Taylor  was  placed  under  a  private  tutor, 
Mr.  Ayres,  who  was  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  task  of  instruction,  and  gave 
that  true  direction  to  the  dawning  powers  of  his  pupil  which  subsequent 
events  have  so  signally  evinced. 

A  2  5 


6  DEFENCE  OF   FORT   HARRISON. 


a y a N o a   o»  TOST  HARRISON. 


With  respect  to  the  General's  youth,  all  accounts  agree  in  describing  it 
as  one  of  rare  promise  fora  military  man.  He  early  showed  a  predilection 
for  the  exercises  and  accomplishments  which  become  a  soldier;  and  he 
clearly  exhibited  those  traits  of  character  which  a  soldier's  life  demands. 

His  desire  to  enter  the  army  was  gratified  by  his  father,  whose  influence 
obtained  for  him,  in  the  year  1808,  a  lieutenancy  in  the  Seventh  Regiment 
of  infantry  of  the  United  States  army.  This  period  was  one  in  which  the 
irritation  of  OUT  countrymen  against  Great  Britain,  in  consequence  of  her 
impressments  of  seamen  and  seizure  of  merchant  vessels  under  orders  in 
council,  was  greatly  aggravated  by  the  outrageous  attack  on  the  frigate 
Chesapeake.  Every  thing  portended  an  immediate  war. 

Before  the  war  broke  out,  in  1812,  he  had  risen  to  the  rank  of  captain, 
and  being  ordered  for  service  in  the  western  country,  he  was  engaged  in 
repelling  the  border  warfare  of  the  Indians,  which  immediately  succeeded 
the  fall  of  Detroit  and  the  surrender  of  General  Hull's  army. 

The  first  notice  which  we  find  in  the  history  of  the  war  of  Captain 
Taylor's  operations,  is  the  account  of  his  splendid  defence  of  Fort  Har 
rison. 

Captain  Taylor,  commander  at  Fort  Harrison,  says  Mr.  Palmer,  having 
received  information  of  the  approach  of  the  hostile  Indians  a  short  time  be 
fore  they  made  their  appearance,  had  used  every  precaution  that  the  small- 
ness  of  his  garrison  would  admit  of.  The  first  hostile  symptoms  appeared 
on  the  evening  of  the  3d  of  September,  when  two  young  men,  who  had 
been  employed  a  short  distance  from  the  fort,  were  shot  and  scalped,  and 
were  found  in  that  condition  the  next  morning  by  a  small  party  that  had 


ATTACK    ON   FORT   HARRISON.  7 

been  sent  out  to  seek  them.  This  circumstance  caused  them  to  redouble 
their  vigilance  ;  and  the  officers  of  the  guard  were  directed  to  walk  the 
round  all  night,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  prevent  any  surprise. 

About  11  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  4th,  the  garrison  being  alarmed 
by  the  firing  of  one  of  the  sentinels,  every  man  instantly  flew  to  his  post. 
In  a  few  minutes  the  cry  of  fire  added  to  the  alarm  ;  when  it  was  disco 
vered  that  the  lower  block-house,  in  which  had  been  deposited  the  pro 
perty  of  the  contractor,  had  been  fired  by  the  Indians.  Such  was  the 
darkness  of  the  night,  that  although  the  upper  part  of  the  building  was 
occupied  by  a  corporal's  guard  as  an  alarm  post,  yet  the  Indians  succeeded 
in  firing  it  undiscovered,  and  unfortunately,  a  few  minutes  after  the  disco 
very  of  the  fire,  it  communicated  to  a  quantity  of  whisky  that  had  been 
deposited  there,  and  immediately  ascended  to  the  roof,  baffling  every  effort 
that  was  made  to  extinguish  it.  As  the  block-house  adjoined  the  barracks, 
which  constituted  part  of  the  fortifications,  most  of  the  men  gave  themselves 
up  for  lost ;  and,  indeed,  the  raging  of  the  fire,  the  yells  of  the  Indians,  and 
the  cries  of  the  women  and  children,  (who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  fort) 
were  sufficient  to  appal  the  stoutest  heart.  Happily  the  presence  of  mind 
of  the  commander  never  forsook  him.  He  instantly  stationed  a  part  of  his 
men  on  the  roof  of  the  barracks/ with  orders  to  tear  off  that  part  adjoining 
the  block-house,  while  the  remainder  kept  up  a  constant  fire  on  the  Indians 
from  another  block-house  and  two  bastions.  The  roof  was  torn  off  under  a 
shower  of  bullets  from  without,  by  which,  however,  only  one  man  was 
killed,  and  two  wounded. 

By  this  success  the  soldiers  were  inspired  with  firmness,  and  now  used 
such  exertions,  that  before  day  they  had  not  only  extinguished  the  fire, 
but  raised  a  breast-work  five  or  six  feet  high  in  the  gap  occasioned  by  the 
burning  of  the  block-house,  although  the  Indians  continued  to  pour  in  a 
heavy  fire  of  ball  and  showers  of  arrows  during  the  whole  time  the  attack 
lasted,  (which  was  seven  hours,)  in  every  part  of  the  parade. 

On  the  first  appearance  of  the  fire,  two  of  the  soldiers  had,  in  despair, 
jumped  the  pickets.  One  of  them  returned  about  an  hour  before  day, 
and,  running  up  towards  the  gate,  begged  for  God's  sake  that  it  might  be 
opened.  On  suspicion  that  it  was  an  Indian  stratagem,  he  was  fired  at. 
He  then  ran  to  the  other  bastion,  where,  his  voice  being  known,  he  was 
directed  to  lie  down  till  day-light  behind  an  empty  barrel  that  happened  to 
be  outside  of  the  pickets.  This  poor  fellow  was  shockingly  wounded,  and 
his  companion  cut  to  pieces  by  the  Indians. 

After  keeping  up  a  constant  fire  till  six  in  the  morning,  which  after  day 
light  was  returned  with  considerable  effect  by  the  garrison,  the  Indians 
retreated  out  of  reach  of  the  guns.  They  then  drove  together  all  the 
horses  and  hogs  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  shot  them  in  sight  of  their 
owners.  The  whole  of  the  horned  cattle  they  succeeded  in  carrying  off. 


8  RAISED   TO   THE    RANK   OF    MAJOR. 

In  this  attack  the  Americans  had  but  three  killed  and  three  wounded, 
including  the  two  that  jumped  the  pickets.  The  Indian  loss  was  supposed 
to  be  considerable,  but  as  they  always  carry  off  both  their  dead  and  wounded, 
the  amount  could  not  be  ascertained.  At  the  moment  of  the  attack  there 
were  only  fifteen  effective  men  in  the  garrison,  the  others  being  sick  or 
convalescent. 

The  Indians,  disheartened  by  this  failure,  made  no  further  attempt  on 
the  fort,  but  the  garrison  still  remained  in  a  perilous  situation,  as  the 
greater  part  of  their  provisions  had  been  destroyed  by  the  fire,  and  the  loss 
of  their  stock  prevented  future  supplies.  Captain  Taylor  therefore 
attempted  to  send,  by  night,  two  men  in  a  canoe  down  the  river  to 
Vincennes,  to  make  known  his  situation,  but  they  were  forced  to  return, 
the  river  being  found  too  well  guarded.  The  Indians  had  made  a  fire  on 
the  bank  of  the  river,  a  short  distance  below  the  garrison,  which  gave  them 
an  opportunity  of  seeing  any  craft  that  might  attempt  to  pass,  with  a  canoe 
ready  below  to  intercept  it.  A  more  fortunate  attempt  was  made  by  land, 
and  the  garrison  was  immediately  after  relieved  by  the  force  under  Gene 
ral  Hopkins,  consisting  of  nearly  4000  men. 

The  gallant  defence  of  Fort  Harrison  by  Captain  Taylor  was  duly  ap 
preciated  by  President  Madison,  who  immediately  promote.d  the  intrepid 
commander  to  the  rank  of  Major.  During  the  remainder  of  the  war  of  1812 
he  was  actively  employed  in  the  western  country,  but  as  he  had  no  oppor 
tunity  of  again  distinguishing  himself  in  a  separate  command,  we  are  not 
able  to  trace  his  movements. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  Major  Taylor  was  employed  in  the 
western  country  at  the  various  posts  where  the  demands  of  the  service  re 
quired  his  presence.  A  time  of  peace  affords  few  materials  for  biography 
in  the  life  of  a  soldier ;  but  it  affords  the  soldier  himself  the  best  opportunity 
for  completing  many  parts  of  his  military  education.  Taylor's  great  emi 
nence  in  every  branch  of  the  military  art  affords  sufficient  proof  that  this 
period  was  employed  in  the  most  diligent  study,  as  far  as  the  requisitions 
of  the  service  would  permit.  And  it  is  equally  certain  that  his  reading 
could  not  have  been  confined  exclusively  to  works  on  the  art  of  war.  He 
read  the  finest  models  of  English  composition ;  and  we  see  the  results  in 
his  published  despatches,  which  are  all  models  of  style,  attracting  the  un 
bounded  admiration  of  the  first  scholars  of  the  age  both  in  Europe  and 
America. 

In  1832  Taylor  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  On  the  com 
mencement  of  war  in  Florida  he  was  ordered  on  service  in  that  district. 
This  content  was,  as  every  one  knows,  what  General  Jackson  called  his 
own  Seminole  war,  "  a  war  of  movements."  It  consisted  almost  entirely 
of  pursuits  and  attempts  to  surround  the  Indians,  which  they  were  gene 
rally  successful  in  eluding. 


SEMINOLE    WAR. 


Colonel  Taylor,  however,  was  more  fortunate  than  his  predecessors ;  and 
in  December,  1837,  he  was  able  to  bring  on  a  general  action  at  Okee-Chobee. 
This  battle  (says  Frost  in  his  life  of  Taylor)  was  fought  between  the 
Americans,  under  Colonel  Taylor,  and  the  Seminoles  and  Mickasukies, 
commanded  by  their  chiefs,  Alligator  and  Sam  Jones.  The  United  States 
army  had  now  been  in  the  Florida  service  for  two  years,  and  the  colonel 
commanded  the  first  brigade,  stationed  at  Fort  Gardner,  south  of  the  With- 
lacoochee.  On  the  19th  of  December  he  received  a  communication  from 
Major-General  Jesup,  informing  him  that  all  hopes  of  bringing  the  war  to 
a  close  by  negotiation  through  the  interference  or  mediation  of  the  Che 
rokee  delegation,  were  at  an  end,  and  that  Sam  Jones,  with  the  Micka 
sukies,  had  determined  to  "  fight  to  the  last."  It  also  directed  him  to  pro 
ceed  with  the  least  possible  delay,  against  any  portion  of  the  enemy  he 
might  hear  of,  and  to  destroy  or  capture  them. 

The  next  morning  after  receiving  this  communication,  the  colonel  left  an 
adequate  force  under  two  officers,  to  protect  the  depot,  and  marched  with 
the  remainder  of  his  command,  having  with  him  but  twelve  days'  rations, 
his  means  of  transportation  not  enabling  him  to  carry  more.  His  force 
was  composed  of  Captain  Morris's  company  of  the  fourth  artillery,  con 
sisting  of  thirty-five  men  :  the  first  infantry  under  Colonel  Davenport, 
one  hundred  and  ninety-seven  strong;  the  fourth  infantry  under  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Foster,  two  hundred  and  seventy-four;  the  Missouri  volun 
teers,  one  hundred  and  eighty ;  Morgan's  spies,  forty-seven ;  and  thirty 
pioneers,  thirteen  pontoniers,  and  seventy  Delaware  Indians ;  making  in 
all,  exclusive  of  officers,  one  thousand  and  thirty-two  men.  The  greater 
part  of  the  Shawnees  had  been  detached,  and  the  remainder  refused  to  ac 
company  him,  under  pretext  that  many  of  them  were  sick,  and  the  rest 
without  moccasins. 

HE  army  moved  down  the  west  side  of  the 
Kissimmee,  in  a  southern  course,  towards  Lake 
Istopoga.  The  colonel  was  induced  to  take 
this  route  for  several  reasons.  He  had  learned 
that  a  portion  of  the  enemy  were  in  that  di 
rection,  and  imagined  that  if  General  Jesup 
should  fall  in  with  the  Mickasukies  and  drive 
them  before  him,  they  might  attempt  to  es~ 
cape  by  crossing  the  Kissimmee,  from  the  east 
to  the  west  side  of  the  peninsula,  between  Fort 
Gardner  and  its  entrance  into  Okee-Chobee,  in 
which  case  he  might  be  near  at  hand  to  inter 
cept  them.  He  also  wished  to  overawe  such 
of  the  Indians  as  had  been  making  proposi 
tions  to  give  themselves  up,  but  had  been  slow 


10  SEEKING   THE    ENEMY. 

to  fulfil  their  promise ;  to  erect  block-houses  and  a  small  picket-work  on 
the  Kissimmee,  forty  or  fifty  miles  below  the  fort,  for  a  third  depot.  By 
this  means  he  hoped  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  country,  as  he  had  no 
guide  to  rely  on,  and  also  to  open  a  communication  with  Colonel  Smith, 
who  was  operating  by  his  orders,  up  the  Caloosehatchee  or  Sanybel  river. 
In  the  evening  of  his  first  day's  march,  Colonel  Taylor  met  the  Indian 
Chief  Jumper,  with  his  family  and  a  part  of  his  band,  consisting  of  fifteen 
men,  some  of  them  with  families  and  a  few  negroes,  on  his  way  to  deliver 
himself  up  in  conformity  to  a  previous  arrangement  with  the  Colonel.  The 
whole  consisted  of  sixty-three  persons,  and  were  conducted  by  Captain- 
Parks,  a  half-breed,  at  the  head  of  the  friendly  Indians,  both  Shawnees  and 
Delawares.  The  army  encamped  that  night  near  the  spot,  and  the  next 
morning  having  sent  on  Jumper  and  his  party  to  Fort  Frazer,  the  Colonel 
continued  his  march,  at  the  same  time  sending  forward  three  Seminoles  to 
gain  intelligence  concerning  the  position  of  the  enemy.  About  noon  of  the 
same  day  he  sent  forward  one  battalion  of  Gentry's  regiment,  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant-colonel  Price,  who  was  ordered  "to  pick  up  any 
stragglers  that  might  fall  in  his  way  ;  to  encamp  two  or  three  miles  in  ad 
vance  of  the  main  force  ;  to  act  with  great  circumspection,  and  to  com 
municate  promptly  any  occurrence  of  importance  that  might  take  place  in 
his  vicinity." 

About  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Taylor  received  a  note  from  Colonel 
Price,  stating  that  the  three  Seminoles  sent  forward  in  the  morning  had 
returned  ;  that  they  had  been  near  where  Alligator  had  encamped,  twelve 
or  fifteen  miles  in  advance  of  his  present  position ;  that  Alligator  had  left 
there  with  a  part  of  his  family,  four  days  before,  under  pretext  of  sepa 
rating  his  friends  and  relatives  from  the  Mickasukies,  preparatory  to  his 
surrendering  with  them  ;  that  there  were  several  families  remaining  at  the 
camp  referred  to,  who  wished  to  give  themselves  up,  and  would  remain 
there  until  Colonel  Taylor  took  possession  of  them,  but  who  were  in  great 
danger  of  being  carried  away  that  night  by  the  Mickasukies,  who  were 
•encamped  at  no  great  distance  from  them. 

In  consequence  of  this  intelligence,  Colonel  Taylor  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  his  mounted  men,  a  little  after  midnight,  and  after  directing  Lieu 
tenant-colonel  Davenport  to  follow  him  early  in  the  morning,  he  com 
menced  his  march,  joined  Price,  crossed  Istopoga  outlet,  and  soon  after 
daylight  took  possession  at  the  encampment  referred  to,  and  had  the  satis 
faction  to  find  that  the  inmates,  amounting  in  all  to  twenty-two  individuals, 
had  not  been  disturbed.  One  of  their  number  informed  him  that  Alligator 
was  anxious  to  deliver  himself  up ;  and  this  individual,  who  was  an  old 
man,  was  subsequently  employed  in  a  mission  to  inform  the  chief  that  if 
sincere  in  his  professions  he  should  have  a  conference  next  day,  at  a  place 
designated  on  the  Kissimmee. 


INTELLIGENCE   FROM   THE    SPIES.  11 

Upon  the  arrival  of  Colonel  Davenport  with  the  infantry,  Colonel  Tay 
lor  moved  on  to  the  place  of  meeting  with  Alligator,  near  which,  as  he 
reached  it  late  in  the  evening,  he  encamped.  At  eleven  o'clock,  the  old 
Indian  returned,  bringing  a  very  equivocal  message  from  Alligator,  whom, 
according  to  his  report,  he  met  accidentally.  He  also  stated  that  the 
Mickasukies  were  still  encamped  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  where 
they  had  remained  for  some  days,  with  a  determination  to  fight  the  United 
States  troops.  In  this  humour,  the  colonel  determined  to  indulge  them  as 
soon  as  possible.  Accordingly,  the  next  morning  he  took  the  old  Indian 
for  his  guide,  crossed  the  Kissimmee,  and  reached  Alligator's  encampment, 
which  was  situated  on  the  edge  of  "  Cabbage  Tree  Hammock,"  in  the 
midst  of  a  large  prairie.  From  the  appearance  of  this  and  other  encamp 
ments  in  the  vicinity,  together  with  the  many  evidences  of  slaughtered 
cattle,  it  was  evident  that  the  population  must  have  numbered  several 
hundreds. 

Before  Taylor  commenced  this  march,  he  had  laid  out  a  small  stockade 
fort  for  the  protection  of  a  future  depot,  and  left  the  pioneers,  pontoneers, 
eighty-five  sick  and  disabled  infantry,  and  a  portion  of  the  friendly  Indians, 
together  with  all  his  artillery  and  heavy  baggage,  under  the  protection  of 
Captain  Monroe.  This  enabled  him  to  move  much  faster  than  if  encum 
bered  by  wounded  and  baggage,  and  brought  him  nearly  on  a  level  with 
his  wary  enemy. 

Soon  after  the  arrival,  the  spies  surprised  another  encampment  situated 
at  a  small  distance  from  the  first,  in  the  midst  of  a  swamp.  It  contained  a 
small  party  of  young  men,  one  old  one,  and  some  women  and  children, 
who  raised  a  white  flag,  and  were  taken  prisoners.  They  were  Seminoles, 
and  informed  Colonel  Taylor  that  the  Mickasukies,  headed  by  A-vi-a-ka, 
(Sam  Jones,)  were  at  the  distance  of  about  twelve  miles,  securely  encamped 
in  a  swamp,  and  prepared  to  fight.  Upon  receiving  this  information,  the 
commander  dismissed  the  old  man,  and,  after  making  provision  for  those 
who  came  in,  moved  forward  under  guidance  of  the  Seminoles,  toward  the 
camp  of  the  Mickasukies. 

Between  the  hours  of  two  and  three  in  the  afternoon,  the  armjr  reached 
a  very  dense  cypress  swamp,  through  which  they  passed  with  great  diffi 
culty,  and  under  a  continual  apprehension  of  an  attack  from  a  concealed 
foe.  The  necessary  dispositions  for  battle  were  arranged  at  the  same  time ; 
but  the  soldiers  crossed  without  gaining  sight  of  the  enemy,  and  encamped 
for  the  night  on  the  opposite  side.  During  the  passage  of  the  rear,  Cap 
tain  Parks,  who  was  in  advance  with  a  few  friendly  Indians,  encountered 
two  of  the  enemy's  spies,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  one  of  them,  who 
was  on  foot.  He  was  a  young  warrior  of  great  activity,  armed  with  an 
excellent  rifle,  fifty  bails  in  his  pouch,  and  an  adequate  proportion  of  pow 
der.  This  Indian  confirmed  the  information  previously  received  from 


12  PREPARING    FOR    BATTLE. 

other  prisoners,  and,  in  addition,  stated  that  a  large  body  of  Serninoles, 
headed  by  John  Cohua,  Coacoochee,  Alligator,  and  other  chiefs,  was  en 
camped  five  or  six  miles  from  the  Americans,  near  the  Mickasukies,  the 
latter  being  separated  by  a  cypress  swamp  and  a  dense  hammock. 

The  army  moved  forward  at  daylight  the  next  morning,  and  after 
marching  five  or  six  miles  reached  another  cypress  swamp,  on  the  borders 
of  which  was  a  deserted  camp  of  the  Seminoles.  It  had  evidently  con 
tained  several  hundred  persons,  and  exhibited  very  plain  manifestations  of 
having  been  abandoned  in  a  hurry,  as  several  fires  were  still  burning,  and 
quantities  of  beef  lying  on  the  ground  unconsumed. 

Upon  reaching  this  encampment  the  troops  were  again  arranged  in 
order  of  battle,  and  again  disappointed  in  their  expectation  of  seeing  an 
enemy.  After  remaining  for  some  time,  they  crossed  the  swamp  and 
entered  a  large  prairie  in  their  front,  on  which  two  or  three  hundred  cattle, 
and  a  number  of  Indian  ponies  were  grazing.  Here  was  captured  another 
young  warrior,  armed  and  equipped  like  the  former.  He  pointed  to  a 
dense  hammock  on  the  right,  about  a  mile  distant,  in  which  he  said  the 
Indians  were  situated,  and  waiting  to  give  battle. 

In  this  place  the  final  disposition  was  made  for  an  attack.  The  army 
was  drawn  up  in  two  lines ;  Morgan's  spies  and  the  volunteers  under 
Gentry,  in  extended  order,  formed  the  first  line,  with  instructions  to  enter 
the  hammock,  and  if  attacked  and  hard  pressed,  to  fall  back  in  the  rear 
of  the  regular  troops,  out  of  the  reach  of  the  enemy's  fire  ;  the  second  line 
was  composed  of  the  fourth  and  sixth  infantry,  who  were  instructed  to 
sustain  the  volunteers.  The  first  infantry  was  held  in  reserve. 

These  arrangements  being  completed,  the  whole  force  moved  on  in  the  di 
rection  of  the  hammock,  and  after  proceeding  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
reached  the  swamp,  on  the  opposite  side  of  which  the  enemy  were  stationed. 
This  was  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  extending  on  the  left  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach,  and  on  the  right  to  a  part  of  the  swamp  and  hammock 
they  had  just  crossed,  through  which  ran  a  deep  creek.  It  consisted  of  an 
oozy  mass  of  mud  and  water  nearly  two  feet  deep,  over  which  waved  a 
thick  growth  of  coarse  "  saw-grass,"  as  tall  as  a  man,  and  was  utterly  im 
passable  to  cavalry,  and  nearly  so  to  foot.  In  consequence  of  this,  all  the 
men  were  dismounted  at  the  edge  of  the  swamp,  and  the  horses  and  bag 
gage  left  under  a  suitable  guard.  At  the  same  time  Captain  Allen  was 
detached  with  the  two  companies  of  mounted  infantry  to  examine  the 
swamp  and  hammock  to  the  right ;  and  in  case  of  not  finding  the  enemy  in 
that  direction,  to  return  to  the  baggage ;  but  in  either  case  if  he  heard  a 
heavy  firing,  immediately  to  join  Colonel  Taylor. 

These  arrangements  being  satisfactorily  completed,  the  army  crossed  the 
swamp  in  order  of  battle.  The  volunteers  and  spies  had  scarcely  reached 
the  borders  of  the  swamp,  when  a  heavy  fire  was  opened  upon  them  by  a 


BATTLE    OF    OKEE-CHOBEE.  13 


BATTLE     OF    O E H EC H O B E E . 


large  body  of  Indians.  This  was  returned  for  a  short  time  with  con 
siderable  spirit,  but  they  soon  lost  their  gallant  commander,  Colonel 
Gentry,  who  fell  mortally  wounded.  After  this  misfortune  they  fled  in 
disorder,  and  instead  of  forming  in  the  rear  of  the  regulars,  as  had  been 
directed,  they  retired  across  the  swamp,  to  their  baggage  and  horses  ;  nor 
would  they  again  enter  into  action  as  a  body,  although  efforts  were 
made  by  Colonel  Taylor's  staff  to  induce  them  to  do  so.  At  this  success, 
the  Indians  rushed  forward  upon  the  second  line,  at  the  same  time  dis 
charging  a  heavy  fire  of  musketry.  They  were,  however,  coolly  met 
and  driven  back  by  the  fourth  and  sixth  infantry.  The  heat  of  battle  was 
principally  borne  by  five  companies  of  the  latter ;  yet  they  not  only  sus 
tained  it  firmly,  but  continued  to  advance  until  their  commander,  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Thompson  and  his  adjutant,  Lieutenant  Carter,  were 
killed ;  they  were  then  obliged  to  retire  for  a  short  distance,  and  re-form. 
So  great  had  been  the  loss  of  these  companies,  that  every  officer,  with  a 
single  exception,  together  with  most  of  the  non-commissioned,  including 
the  sergeant-major  and  four  of  the  orderly  sergeants,  was  killed  or  wounded ; 
and  one  of  them  had  but/owr  members  uninjured. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Foster,  with  six  companies,  amounting  in  all  to  one 
hundred  and  sixty  men,  gained  the  hammock  in  good  order,  where  he  was 
joined  by  Captain  Noel,  with  the  two  remaining  companies  of  the  sixth 
infantry,  and  Captain  Gillam,  of  Gentry's  volunteers,  with  a  few  additional 
men.  These,  by  a  change  of  front,  succeeded  in  separating  the  enemy's 
line,  and  continued  to  drive  them  until  they  reached  the  lake  Okee-Chobee, 
which  was  in  the  rear  of  the  enemy's  position,  and  bordered  their  encamp- 

B 


14  RESULTS  OF  THE  BATTLE. 

ment  for  nearly  a  mile.  As  soon  as  Colonel  Taylor  was  informed  that 
Captain  Allen  was  advancing,  he  ordered  the  first  infantry  to  move  to  the 
left,  gain  the  enemy's  right  flank,  and  turn  it.  This  order  was  excecuted 
with  promptness  and  effect ;  as  soon  as  the  regiment  got  into  position  the 
Indians  gave  one  fire  and  retreated,  being  pursued  by  the  first,  fourth,  and 
sixth,  and  some  few  volunteers,  until  near  night.  This  chase  was  a  most 
fatiguing  one,  as  the  enemy  scattered  in  all  directions,  and  the  troops  were 
obliged  to  follow  over  a  swampy  and  rugged  surface. 

This  action  was  long  and  severe,  continuing  from  half-past  twelve  until 
about  three,  p.  M.  The  Indians  had  selected  the  strongest  position  of  the 
swamp,  and  were  covered  in  front  by  a  small  stream,  whose  quicksands 
rendered  it  almost  impassable.  In  addition  to  this,  their  front  was  con 
cealed  and  partly  protected  by  a  growth  of  thickly  interwoven  hammock, 
and  their  flanks  were  secured  by  impassable  swamps.  They  numbered 
about  seven  hundred  warriors,  and  were  led  by  Alligator,  Coacoochee,  and 
Sam  Jones. 

Colonel  Taylor's  force  amounted  to  about  five  hundred  men,  only  part 
of  whom  were  regulars.  In  passing  the  stream  they  sunk  to  the  middle 
in  mire,  and  were  continually  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  enemy ;  and  for  a 
while  during  the  battle,  both  parties  fought  hand  to  hand.  The  Ameri 
cans  lost  twenty-six  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  twelve  wounded.  Among 
the  slain  were  Colonels  Gentry  and  Thompson,  Captain  Van  Swearingen, 
and  Lieutenants  Carter  and  Brook,  all  of  whom  fell  at  the  head  of  their  re 
spective  commands.  The  loss  of  the  Indians  was  never  ascertained  ;  they 
left  ten  bodies  on  the  field,  and  doubtless  carried  away  a  large  number, 
according  to  their  invariable  practice.  During  the  whole  engagement  the 
Colonel  was  on  horseback,  passing  from  point  to  point,  and  cheering  his 
men,  though  he  himself  was  exposed  to  the  complete  range  of  the  Indian 
rifles. 

As  soon  as  the  enemy  were  thoroughly  broken,  Colonel  Taylor  turned 
his  attention  to  the  wounded.  He  had  previously  ordered  an  encamp 
ment  to  be  formed  near  his  baggage  ;  and  to  facilitate  his  operations,  he 
directed  Captain  Taylor  to  cross  to  that  spot  and  employ  every  individual 
whom  he  might  find  there,  in  constructing  a  small  footway  across  the 
swamp.  By  great  exertions  this  was  completed  a  short  time  after  dark, 
when  all  the  dead  and  wounded,  with  the  exception  of  the  body  of  a 
private,  which  could  not  be  found,  were  carried  across  in  litters. 

In  speaking  of  this  disastrous  though  successful  action,  Colonel  Taylor, 
in  his  official  communication  to  the  department,  says  : — "  I  trust  that  I  may 
be  permitted  to  say,  that  I  experienced  one  of  the  most  trying  scenes  of 
my  life,  and  he  who  could  have  looked  on  it  with  indifference,  his  nerves 
must  have  been  very  differently  organized  from  my  own.  Besides  the 
killed,  there  lay  one  hundred  and  twelve  wounded  officers  and  soldiers, 


RESULTS  OF  THE  BATTLE.  15 

who  had  accompanied  me  one  hundred  and  forty-five  miles,  most  of  the 
way  through  an  unexplored  wilderness,  without  guides,  who  had  so  gal 
lantly  beat  the  enemy,  under  my  orders,  in  his  strongest  position,  and  who 
had  to  be  conveyed  back  through  swamps  and  hammocks,  from  whence 
we  set  out,  without  any  apparent  means  of  doing  it.  This  service,  how 
ever,  was  encountered  and  overcome,  and  they  have  been  conveyed  thus 
far,  and  proceeded  on  to  Tampa  Bay,  on  rude  litters,  constructed  with  the 
axe  and  knife  alone,  with  poles  and  dry  hides ;  the  latter  being  found  in 
great  abundance  at  the  encampment  of  the  hostiles.  The  litters  were  con 
veyed  on  the  backs  of  our  weak  and  tottering  horses,  aided  by  the  residue 
of  the  command,  with  more  ease  and  comfort  to  the  sufferers  than  I  could 
have  supposed  ;  and  with  as  much  as  they  could  have  been  in  ambulances 
of  the  most  improved  and  modern  construction." 

The  day  after  the  battle,  Colonel  Taylor  and  his  command  remained  at 
their  encampment,  occupied  in  taking  care  of  the  wounded,  and  in  the  sad 
office  of  interring  the  dead.  They  also  prepared  Jitters  for  the  removal  of 
the  wounded,  and  detached  a  portion  of  the  mounted  men  to  collect  the 
horses  and  cattle  which  had  been,  left  by  the  enemy.  Of  the  former  they 
found  about  a  hundred,  many  of  which  were  saddled,  and  three  hundred 
oxen. 

The  battle  of  Okee-Chobee  had  a  very  beneficial  influence  upon  the 
efforts  to  subdue  the  Indians  of  Florida.  An  officer  writing  from  Fort 
Bassinger  subsequent  to  it,  says  : — "The  Indian  prisoners  now  admit  that 
they  lost  twenty  killed  on  the  ground,  and  a  great  many  wounded,  in  the 
fight  with  Colonel  Taylor.  They  had  a  strong  position  and  fought  well, 
but  were  terribly  whipped,  and  have  never  returned  near  the  ground 
since.  Jumper,  Alligator,  and  other  warriors  afterwards  came  in,  and 
were  subsequently  employed  by  the  colonel  in  inducing  their  hostile  com 
panions  to  surrender  themselves ;  by  this  means,  large  numbers  delivered 
themselves  to  the  Americans.  Indeed,  the  general  policy  pursued  by 
Colonel  Taylor  while  in  Florida,  together  with  his  industry  and  persever 
ance,  and  the  hardy  constitution  he  possessed,  rendered  his  services  im 
mensely  valuable  to  the  government  in  subduing  the  savages,  and  giving 
peace  and  safety  to  the  southern  frontier.  The  country  was  not  insen 
sible  of  his  value,  and  the  department  at  Washington  conferred  on  him 
the  rank  of  brigadier-general  by  brevet,  to  take  date  from  the  battle  of 
Okee-Chobee. 

Taylor  now  established  himself  at  Fort  Bassinger,  on  the  Kissimmee, 
about  twenty  miles  west  of  Fort  Lloyd.  On  the  1st  of  March  following, 
Mr.  Poinsett,  Secretary  of  War,  wrote  to  Major-general  Jesup  a  letter,  of 
which  the  following  is  an  extract : — 

"The  department  indulge  the  hope,  that  with  the  extensive  means 
placed  at  your  disposal,  the  war,  by  a  vigorous  effort,  might  be  brought  to 


16          GENERAL  TAYLOR  SENT  TO  TEXAS. 

a  close  this  campaign.  If,  however,  you  are  of  opinion,  that,  from  the 
nature  of  the  country  and  the  character  of  the  enemy,  such  a  result  is 
impracticable,  and  that  it  is  advisable  to  make  a  temporary  arrangement 
with  the  Seminoles,  by  which  the  safety  of  the  settlements  and  the  posts 
will  be  secured  throughout  the  summer,  you  are  at  liberty  to  do  so.  In 
that  event,  you  will  establish  posts  at  Tampa  and  on  the  eastern  shore, 
and  wherever  else  they  are,  in  your  opinion,  necessary  to  preserve  the 
peace  of  the  country  ;  and  I  would  suggest  the  propriety  of  leaving  Colo 
nel  Zachary  Taylor,  of  the  first  infantry,  in  command  of  them." 

Accordingly,  Colonel  Taylor  received  the  command  of  the  posts  along 
the  frontier. 

General  Jesup  having  reported  that  the  operations  in  Florida  would  pro 
bably  terminate  on  the  1st  of  May,  the  adjutant-general  issued  a  "general 
order"  on  the  10th  of  April,  1838,  making  such  a  disposition  of  the 
forces  as  seemed  necessary.  The  fifth  article  of  this  paper  reads  as  fol 
lows  : — 

"  Major-general  Jesup  will  take  all  the  necessary  orders  for  the  prompt 
execution  of  this  order,  and  will  then  turn  over  the  command  of  the  troops 
in  Florida  to  Brevet  Brigadier-general  Z.  Taylor,  colonel  of  the  first  infan 
try  and resume  the  duties  of  quartermaster-general." 

Agreeably  to  this  order,  General  Taylor  assumed  the  command  of  the 
Florida  army,  in  the  following  May.  Here  he  remained  until  1840,  when, 
upon  requesting  leave  to  retire,  he  was  relieved  by  Brigadier-general 
Armistead,  and,  with  his  family,  arrived  in  New  Orleans  on  the  21st  of 
June. 

When  it  was  determined  by  the  administration  to  send  an  army  to  the 
frontiers  of  Texas,  General  Taylor  was  selected  to  command  it.  He  was 
(we  are  informed)  requested  by  the  War  Department  to  withdraw  an  ap 
plication  for  a  furlough  which  he  had  previously  filed,  and  which,  from 
his  uninterrupted  services,  the  courtesy  and  custom  of  the  department 
could  scarcely  have  denied  him.  Ever  self-sacrificing,  and  always  scru 
pulously  attentive  to  even  the  shadow  of  duty,  he  gave  up  his  furlough, 
as  he  had  before  done  when  ordered  to  Florida,  and  entered  energetically 
upon  the  work  assigned  him.  With  his  career  since  that  time — glorious 
and  dazzling  as  it  is — the  country  is  familiar.  Yet  few,  comparatively — 
strange  as  the  statement  may  at  first  view  appear — appreciate  General 
jiflTaytor  as  he  deserves.  The  whole  country  rings  with  his  fame — the 
great  and  small,  rich  and  poor,  delight  to  do  him  honour — scarcely  a 
breath  of  detraction  mingles  with  the  homage  almost  universally  awarded 
him — yet,  we  repeat,  but  few  appreciate  him  as  he  deserves.  Caught  and 
blinded  by  the  splendour  of  his  most  astonishing  victories,  how  few  con 
sider  the  labours,  the  cares,  the  anxieties,  the  difficulties,  he  experienced 
in  preparing,  in  organizing  this  expedition,  in  a  country  unprepared  by 


GENERAL  TAYLOR  AT  CORPUS  CHRIST1. 


17 


CORPUS     CHBISTI. 


policy,  and,  in  fact,  for  entering  into  a  campaign.  How  few  think  of  the 
obstacles  to  overcome  in  the  embarkation,  upon  the  march,  and  in  the 
camp.  How  few  consider  his  feelings — his  distress — when,  in  his  camp, 
he  saw  his  men  destitute  of  the  commonest  necessaries,  dying,  day  after 
day,  from  disease  and  exposure.  How  few  appreciate  his  extended  views 
of  policy,  his  great  military  plans  since  disclosed  to  us  in  his  despatches 
to  the  War  Department,  written  about  that  time.  How  few  appreciate  the 
readiness  and  ability  with  which  he  accepted  and  carried  out  the  views, 
half-military,  half-political,  of  the  government,  from  the  moment  he  landed 
at  Corpus  Christi,  throughout  the  war,  but  more  especially  in  his  march  to 
Matamoros — his  conduct  on  the  march — and  his  course  while  at  Fort 
Brown.  At  the  risk  of  his  life,  and  that  thing  dearer  than  life,  his  repu 
tation,  he  swerved  not  in  the  slightest  degree  from  the  spirit  of  the  line  of 
policy  marked  out  for  him  by  his  government.  Who  would  envy  him  his 
feelings  while  in  the  face  of  an  enemy,  who,  he  knew,  could  make  ail 
preparations  and  strike  him  or  remain  friendly,  at  their  own  election,  and 
at  whatever  time  and  under  whatever  circumstances  best  suited  them, 
while  he  must  lie  quiet  and  await  the  blow  ?  Who  can  sufficiently  praise 
his  foresight,  forbearance  and  endurance,  when,  although  his  camp  was 
almost  in  a  state  of  mutiny,  he  refrained  from  crushing,  as  he  could  easily 
have  done,  the  small  parties  which  first  crossed  the  Rio  Grande  ?  Had  he 
done  so,  he  would  have  had  on  his  hands  an  endless,  vexatious,  guerilla 
3  B3 


18 


GENERAL    TAYLOR    AT    POINT    ISABEL. 


POINT     ISABEL. 


war,  and  the  glorious  battles  of  the  8th  and  9th  would  never  have  been 
fought.  As  much  as  General  Taylor  deserves  for  those  battles,  (and  who 
will  say  that  he  does  not  deserve  greatly  ?)  he  deserves  tenfold  more  for 
his  conduct  prior  to  the  time  when  they  were  fought.  The  former  showed 
him  a  general  of  skill,  coolness,  and  gallantry — the  latter  proved  him  not 
only  a  soldier,  but  a  man  of  energy  and  endurance,  one  who  could  not  only 
act  but  wait;  a  man  of  strong  mind,  capable  of  extended  military  and 
political  views. 

On  the  llth  of  March,  1846,  the  "Army  of  Occupation,"  which  had  for 
some  time  been  rendezvousing  at  Corpus  Christi,  broke  up  its  encampment, 
and  commenced  its  movement  towards  the  Rio  Grande.  The  distance  to 
be  accomplished  was  nearly  120  miles,  which,  owing  to  the  swampy  na 
ture  of  the  country,  was  a  task  of  considerable  difficulty.  The  army 
reached  Point  Isabel,  (a  bluff  or  promontory  of  60  feet  elevation,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Rio  Grande,  a  few  miles  below  Matamoros,  which  is  on 
the  southern  side  of  that  river,)  on  the  24th.  This  place  was  now  made 
the  principal  depot  for  the  provisions  and  military  stores  of  the  army. 

On  the  26th,  General  Taylor  set  out  from  Point  Isabel,  leaving  one  com 
pany  of  artillery  under  the  command  of  Major  Monroe,  and  proceeded  to 
the  main  body  of  the  army,  which,  by  his  orders,  had  encamped  opposite 
Matamoros. 

The  Mexicans  manifested  great  anger,  at  this  position  bein^  occupied  by 
our  army,  for  they  considered  all  that  territory  which  lies  between  the  Rio 
Nueces  and  the  Rio  Grande,  as  a  part  of  their  own  Republic. 


ADVANCES   TO   MATAMOROS. 


19 


COLONEL      CROSS. 


On  the  llth  of  April,  General  Ampudia  marched  into  Matamoros  with 
1000  cavalry  and  1500  infantry,  and  on  the  12th  ordered  General  Taylor  to 
break  up  his  camp  and  retire  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  Rio  Nueces.  Gene 
ral  Taylor  replied  to  Ampudia  that  he  had  been  instructed  by  the  President 
of  the  United  States  to  occupy  the  territory  east  of  the  Rio  Grande  ;  that 
he  came  there  without  any  hostile  intention,  either  towards  the  government 
or  people  of  Mexico ;  and  that  any  attempt  made  to  dislodge  him  would  be 
repelled  by  force ;  and,  likewise,  should  he  attempt  to  cross  the  river,  it 
would  be  considered  a  hostile  act,  and,  as  such,  would  be  resisted. 

General  Taylor  now  commenced  erecting  fortifications,  employing  1500 
or  1600  men  constantly,  to  render  the  position  which  he  had  chosen  secure. 
About  this  time  Colonel  Cross  was  attacked  by  a  body  of  Rancheros,  and 
cruelly  murdered.  This  was  the  first  life  lost  in  the  "Army  of  Occupa 
tion,"  but  it  was  soon  followed  by  the  attack  upon  and  killing  of  Lieute 
nant  Porter  and  three  others.  This,  shortly  afterwards,  was  followed  by 
the  attack  upon,  and  capture  of  Captain  Thornton  and  party,  who  had  been 
despatched  by  General  Taylor  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy's  position. 

Large  bodies  of  Mexicans  were  now  daily  crossing  the  Rio  Grande, 


20  SURROUNDED    1Y    THE    MEXICANS. 


CAPTDUE      OH1     COLONEL     THORNTON. 


both  above  and  below  General  Taylor's  camp  ;  their  main  object  being  to 
eject  our  army  from  the  position  it  had  assumed.  From  the  capture  of 
Captain  Thornton  and  his  command,  all  communication  was  cut  off  between 
Point  Isabel  and  General  Taylor's  camp,  for  the  space  of  three  days.  This 
was  a  serious  misfortune,  for  the  entire  stores  of  the  army  were  at  Point 
Isabel;  and  the  prospect  of  opening  a  communication  seemed  hopeless,  as 
the  enemy,  under  General  Arista,  had  assembled  in  great  force,  between 
these  two  points.  On  the  28th  of  April,  Captain  Walker,  of  the  Texas 
Rangers,  (Volunteers,)  left  Point  Isabel,  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy,  and,  if 
possible,  force  his  way  to  General  Taylor's  camp.  He  was,  however,  driven 
back ;  but  on  the  29th  he  again  left  Point  Isabel,  determined  to  reach  Ge 
neral  Taylor's  camp,  or  perish  in  the  attempt.  He  arrived  safely  at  the 
camp  on  the  30th,  and  informed  General  Taylor  that  Point  Isabel  was  in 
danger  daily  of  being  attacked,  as  the  enemy  had  assembled  in  great  force 
in  its  immediate  vicinity. 

This  intelligence  determined  General  Taylor  to  proceed  at  once,  with 
the  main  body  of  the  army,  toward  that  place.  Leaving  Major  Brown  at 
the  head  of  600  men,  in  command  of  the  fortifications  which  had  been 
erected,  General  Taylor  set  out  for  Point  Isabel,  with  the  remainder  of  his 
force,  and  arrived  at  that  place  without  meeting  with  any  opposition.  The 
moment  the  Mexicans  became  aware  of  the  departure  of  General  Taylor, 
they  opened  a  heavy  fire  on  the  fort,  (now  Fort  Brown,)  from  their  batte 
ries  ;  and,  although  kept  up  for  several  days,  did  no  serious  injury.  On 
the  morning  of  the  6th  of  May,  Major  Brown,  the  commanding  officer,  was 


BATTLE  OF  PALO  ALTO. 


21 


MAJOR     BINQQOLD. 


wounded  by  the  bursting  of  a  shell;  the  wound  terminating  fatally  on  the 
9th.  The  bombardment  of  the  fort  was  kept  up  till  the  evening  of  the  8th, 
when  the  enemy  raised  the  siege  and  beat  a  retreat. 

General  Taylor  having  received  information  of  the  bombardment  of  Fort 
Brown,  from  Captains  Walker  and  May,  left  Point  Isabel  with  his  army  to 
march  to  its  relief. 

But  he  did  not  reach  there  undisturbed  ;  he  met  the  enemy  and  defeated 
them  in  two  desperate  engagements  on  the  8th  and  9th.  The  accounts  of 
these  two  engagements  we  have  taken  from  General  Taylor's  despatches  to 
the  seat  of  government,  dated  16th  and  17th  of  May,  1846. 

The  main  body  of  the  "  Army  of  Occupation"  (says  General  Taylor) 
marched  under  my  immediate  orders  from  Point  Isabel  on  the  evening  of 
the  7th  of  May,  and  bivouacked  seven  miles  from  that  place. 

"  Our  march  was  resumed  the  following  morning.  About  noon,  when 
our  advance  of  cavalry  had  reached  the  water-pole  of  *  Palo  Alto,'  the 
Mexican  troops  were  reported  in  our  front,  and  were  soon  discovered  oc 
cupying  the  road  in  force.  I  ordered  a  halt  upon  reaching  the  water,  with 


22 


BATTLE  OF  PALO  ALTO. 


a  view  to  rest  and  refresh  the  men  and  form  deliberately  our  line  of  battle. 
The  Mexican  line  was  now  plainly  visible  across  the  prairie,  and  about 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  distant.  Their  left,  which  was  composed  of  a 
heavy  force  of  cavalry,  occupied  the  road  resting  upon  a  thicket  of  cha 
parral,  while  masses  of  infantry  were  discovered  in*  succession  on  the 
right,  greatly  outnumbering  our  own  force. 

"  Our  line  of  battle  was  now  formed  in  the  following  order,  commanded  on 
the  right :  5th  infantry,  commanded  by  Lieutenant-colonel  Mclntosh ; 
Major  Ringgold's  artillery ;  3d  infantry,  commanded  by  Captain  L.  N. 
Morris  ;  two  eighteen  pounders,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Churchill,  3d 
artillery;  4th  infantry,  commanded  by  G.  W.  Allen  ;  the  3d  and  4th  regi 
ments  composed  the  3d  brigade,  under  command  of  Lieutenant-colonel 
Garland  ;  and  all  the  above  corps,  together  with  two  squadrons  of  dragoons, 
under  Captains  Ker  and  May,  composed  the  right  wing,  under  the  orders 
of  Colonel  Twiggs.  The  left  was  formed  by  the  battalion  of  artillery,  com 
manded  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Childs,  Captain  Duncan's  light  artillery, 
and  the  8th  infantry  under  Captain  Montgomery — all.  forming  the  1st 
brigade,  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Belknap.  The  train  was 
packed  near  the  water,  under  directions  of  Captain  Crosman  and  Myers, 
and  protected  by  Captain  Ker's  squadron.  At  2  o'clock,  we  took  up  our 
march  by  heads  of  columns  in  the  direction  of  the  enemy — the  eighteen- 
pounder  battery  following  the  road. 

IEUTENANT  BLAKE,  of  the  topo 
graphical  engineers,  while  the  columns 
were  advancing,  volunteered  a  recon- 
noissance  of  the  enemy's  line,  which 
was  handsomely  performed,  and  result 
ed  in  the  discovery  of  at  least  two  bat 
teries  of  artillery  in  the  intervals  of  their 
cavalry  and  infantry.  These  batteries 
were  soon  opened  upon  us  ;  when  I  or 
dered  the  columns  halted  and  deployed 
into  line,  and  the  fire  to  be  returned  by 
all  our  artillery.  The  8th  infantry,  on 
our  extreme  left,  was  thrown  back  to 
secure  that  flank.  The  first  fires  did  little  execution,  while  our  eighteen 
pounders  and  Major  Ringgold's  artillery  soon  dispersed  the  cavalry,  which 
formed  his  left.  Captain  Duncan's  battery,  thrown  forward  in  the  advance 
of  the  line,  was  doing  good  execution  at  this  time.  Captain  May's  squad 
ron  was  now  detached  to  support  that  battery,  and  the  left  of  our  position. 
The  Mexican  cavalry  and  two  pieces  of  artillery  were  now  reported  to  be 
moving  through  the  chaparral  to  our  right,  to  threaten  our  flank,  or  make 
a  demonstration  against  the  train.  The  5th  infantry  was  immediately  de- 


BATTLE    OF    PALO    ALTO. 


23 


BATTLE     OF     PALO     ALTO. 


tached  to  check  this  movement,  and,  supported  by  Lieutenant  Ridgley, 
with  a  section  of  Major  Ringgold's  battery  and  Captain  Walker's  company 
of  volunteers,  effectually  repulsed  the  enemy — the  5th  infantry  repelling  a 
charge  of  lancers,  and  the  artillery  doing  great  execution  in  their  ranks. 
The  3d  infantry  was  now  detached  to  the  right  as  a  still  further  security 
to  that  flank,  threatened  by  the  enemy.  Major  Ringgold,  with  the  remain 
ing  section,  kept  up  his  fire  from  an  advanced  position  and  was  supported 
by  the  4th  infantry. 

"The  grass  of  the  prairie  had  been  accidentally  fired  by  our  artillery,  and 
the  volumes  of  smoke  now  partially  concealed  the  armies  from  each  other. 
As  the  enemy's  left  had  been  driven  back,  and  left  the  road  free,  as  the 
cannonade  had  been  suspended,  I  ordered  forward  the  eighteen  pounders 
on  the  road  nearly  to  the  position  first  occupied  by  the  Mexican  cavalry, 
and  caused  the  1st  brigade  to  take  up  a  new  position  still  on  the  left  of  the 
eighteen-pounder  battery.  The  5th  was  advanced  from  its  former  posi 
tion,  and  occupied  a  point  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  new  line.  The  enemy 
made  a  change  of  position  corresponding  to  our  own,  and  after  a  suspension 
of  nearly  an  hour  the  action  was  resumed. 

"The  fire  of  artillery  was  now  most  destructive — openings  were  con 
stantly  made  through  the  enemy's  ranks  by  our  fire,  and  the  constancy 
with  which  the  Mexican  infantry  sustained  this  severe  cannonade  was  a 
theme  of  universal  remark  and  admiration.  Capt.  May's  squadron  was 
detached  to  make  a  demonstration  on  the  left  of  the  enemy's  position,  and 
suffered  severely  from  the  fire  of  artillery,  to  which  it  was  for  some  time 


BATTLE  OF  PALO  ALTO. 


COLONEL     CHILB3. 


exposed.  The  4th  infantry,  which  had  been  ordered  to  support  the 
eighteen-pounder  battery,  was  exposed  to  a  most  galling  fire  of  artillery, 
by  which  several  men  were  killed  and  Capt.  Page  dangerously  wounded. 
The  enemy's  fire  was  directed  against  our  eighteen-pounder  battery  and 
the  guns  of  Major  Ringgold  in  its  vicinity.  The  Major  himself,  while 
coolly  directing  the  ^fire  of  his  pieces,  was  struck  by  a  cannon  ball  and 
mortally  wounded. 

"In  the  mean  time  the  battalion  of  artillery,  Lieutenant  Col.  Childs,  had 
been  brought  up  to  support  the  artillery  on  our  right.  A  strong  de 
monstration  of  cavalry  was  now  made  by  the  enemy  against  this  part  of  our 
line,  and  the  column  continued  to  advance  under  a  severe  fire  from  the 
'eighteen  pounders.  The  battalion  was  instantly  formed  in  square,  and 
held  ready  to  receive  the  charge  of  cavalry,  but  when  the  advancing 
squadrons  were  within  close  range,  a  deadly  fire  of  cannister  frcm  the 
eighteen  pounders  soon  dispersed  them.  A  brisk  fire  of  small  arms  was 
now  opened  upon  the  square,  by  which  one  officer,  Lieut.  Luther,  2d 
artillery,  was  slightly  wounded,  but  a  well-directed  fire  from  the  front  of 


BATTLE    OF    PALO    ALTO. 


DEATH    OF    MAJOR    R  I  N  O G O L D . 


the  square  silenced  ail  further  firing  from  the  enemy  in  this  quarter.  It 
was  now  nearly  dark,  and  the  action  was  closed  on  the  right  of  our  line, 
the  enemy  having  been  completely  driven  back  in  his  position  and  foiled 
in  his  attempt  against  our  line. 

"While  the  above  Was  going  forward  on  our  right  and  under  my  own  eye, 
the  enemy  had  made  a  serious  attempt  against  the  left  of  our  line.  Capt. 
Duncan  instantly  perceived  the  movement,  and  by  the  bold  and  brilliant 
maneuvering  of  his  battery,  completely  repulsed  several  successive  efforts 
of  the  enemy  to  advance  in  force  upon  our  left  flank.  Supported  in  suc 
cession  by  the  8th  infantry  and  by  Captain  Ker's  squadron  of  dragoons,  he 
gallantly  held  the  enemy  at  bay,  and  finally  drove  him,  with  immense  loss, 
from  the  field.  The  action  here,  and  along  the  whole  line,  continued  until 
dark,  when  the  enemy  retired  into  the  chaparral  in  the  rear  of  his  position. 
Our  army  bivouacked  on  the  ground  it  occupied.  During  the  afternoon 
the  train  had  been  moved  forward  about  half  a  mile,  and  was  packed  in 
rear  of  the  new  position. 

"Our  loss,  this  day,  was  nine  killed,  forty-four  wounded  and  two  missing. 
Among  the  wounded  were  Major  Ringgold,  who  has  since  died,  and  Cap 
tain  Page,  dangerously  wounded ;  Lieut.  Luther  slightly  so.  I  annex  a 
tabular  statement  of  the  casualties  of  the  day. 

"Our  own  force  engaged,  is  shown  by  the  field  report  to  have  been  177 

officers  and  2111  men — aggregate  2288.     The  Mexican  force,  according  to 

the  statements  of  their  own  officers,  taken  prisoners  in  the  affair  of  the  9th, 

was  not  less  than  6000  regular  troops,  with  10  pieces  of  artillery,  and 

4  C 


26 


BATTLE  OF  RESACA  DE  LA  PALMA. 


CAPTAIN     M  'C  ALL. 


probably  exceeded  that  number;  the  irregular  force  was  not  known. 
Their  loss  was  not  less  than  200  killed  and  400  wounded — probably 
greater.  This  number  is  very  moderate,  and  formed  upon  the  number 
actually  counted  upon  the  field  and  upon  the  reports  of  their  own  officers. 

"The  conduct  of  our  officers  and  men  was  every  thing  that  could  be  de 
sired.  Exposed  for  hours  to  the  severest  trial — a  cannonade  of  artillery — 
our  troops  displayed  a  coolness  and  constancy,  which  gave  me,  throughout, 
the  assurance  of  victory." 

The  tabular  statement  alluded  to  in  the  above  letter,  represents  that  9 
non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  were  killed  in  the  battle,  and  44 
wounded,  including  3  commissioned  officers. 

"  Early  in  the  morning  of  the  9th,  the  enemy,  who  had  encamped  near 
the  field  of  battle  of  the  day  previous,  was  discovered  moving  by  his  left 
flank,  evidently  in  retreat,  and,  perhaps,  at  the  same  time  to  gain  a  new 
position,  on  the  road  to  Matamoros,  and  there  again  resist  our  advance. 

"I  ordered  the  supply  train  to  be  strongly  packed  at  its  position,  and  left 
with  it  four  pieces  of  artillery — the  two  eighteen-pounders  which  had  done 
such  good  service  on  the  previous  day,  and  two  twelve-pounders  which  had 
not  been  in  the  action.  The  wounded  officers  and  men  were  at  the  same 


BATTLE  OF  RESACA  DE  LA  PALMA. 


27 


MAT    8     CHABGE     AT     BESACA    D  B     LA    PALMA. 

time  sent  back  to  Point  Isabel.  I  then  moved  forward  with  the  columns 
to  the  edge  of  the  chaparral  or  forest,  which  extends  to  the  Rio  Grande, — 
a  distance  of  seven  miles.  The  light  companies  of  the  first  brigade,  under 
Captain  C.  F.  Smith,  2d  artillery,  and  a  select  detachment  of  light  troops, 
the  whole  under  the  command  of  Captain  McCall,  4th  infantry,  were  thrown 
forward  into  the  chaparral,  to  feel  the  enemy  and  ascertain  his  position. 
About  three  o'clock,  I  received  a  report  from  the  advance  that  the  enemy 
was  in  position  on  the  road,  with  at  least  two  pieces  of  artillery.  The 
command  was  immediately  put  in  motion,  and  about  4  o'clock  I  came  up 
with  Captain  McCall,  who  reported  the  enemy  in  force  in  our  front,  occu 
pying  a  ravine  which  intersects  the  road,  and  is  skirted  by  thickets  of  dense 
chaparral.  Ridgeley's  battery,  and  the  advance,  under  Captain  McCall, 
were  at  once  thrown  forward  on  the  road,  and  into  the  chaparral,  on  either 
side,  while  the  5th  infantry  and  one  wing  of  the  4th  was  thrown  into  the 
forest  on  the  left,  and  the  3d  and  other  wing  of  the  4th,  on  the  right  of  the 
road.  These  corps  were  employed  as  skirmishers  to  cover  the  battery,  and 
engage  the  Mexican  infantry.  Captain  McCalPs  command  became  at  once 
engaged  with  the  enemy,  while  the  light  artillery,  though  in  a  very  ex 
posed  position,  did  great  execution.  The  enemy  had  at  least  eight  pieces 
of  artillery,  and  maintained  an  incessant  fire  on  our  advance. 

"The  action  now  became  general,  and  although  the  enemy's  infantry 
gave  way  before  the  steady  fire  and  resistless. progress  of  our  own,  yet  his 
artillery  was  still  in  position  to  check  our  advance — several  pieces  occupy 
ing  the  pass  across  the  ravine,  which  he  had  chosen  for  his  position. 


28 


BATTLE  OF  RESACA  DE  LA  PALMA. 


Perceiving  that  no  decisive  advantage  could  be  gained  until  this  artillery 
was  silenced,  I  ordered  Captain  May  to  charge  the  batteries  with  his  squad 
ron  of  dragoons.  This  was  gallantly  and  effectually  executed ;  the  enemy 
was  driven  from  his  guns,  and  General  La  Vega,  who  remained  alone  at 
one  of  the  batteries,  was  taken  prisoner.  The  squadron,  which  suffered 
much  in  this  charge,  not  being  immediately  supported  by  infantry,  could 
not  retain  possession  of  the  artillery,  but  it  was  completely  silenced.  In 
the  mean  time,  the  8th  infantry  had  been  ordered  up,  and  had  become 
warmly  engaged  on  the  right  of  the  road.  This  regiment,  and  a  part  of 
the  5th,  were  now  ordered  to  charge  the  batteries ;  which  was  handsomely 
done,  and  the  enemy  entirely  driven  from  his  artillery  and  his  position  on 
the  left  of  the  road. 

"The  light  companies  of  the  first  brigade,  and  the  3d  and  4th  regiments 
of  infantry  had  been  deployed  on  the  right  of  the  road,  where,  at  various 
points,  they  became  briskly  engaged  with  the  enemy.  A  small  party, 
under  Captain  Buchanan  and  Lieutenants  Wood  and  Hays,  4th  infantry, 
composed  chiefly  of  men  of  that  regiment,  drove  the  enemy  from  a  breast 
work  which  he  occupied,  and  captured  a  piece  of  artillery.  An  attempt 
to  recover  this  piece  was  repelled  by  Captain  Barbour's  3d  infantry.  The 
enemy  was  at  last  completely  driven  from  his  position  on  the  right  of  the 
road,  and  retreated  precipitately,  leaving  baggage  of  every  description. 
The  4th  infantry  took  possession  of  a  camp  where  the  head-quarters  of  the 
Mexican  general-in-chief  were  established.  All  his  official  correspondence 
was  captured  at  this  point. 

"The  artillery  battalion  (excepting  the  flank  companies)  had  been  ordered 
to  guard  the  baggage  train,  which  was  packed  some  distance  in  the  rear. 
That  battalion  was  now  ordered  up  to  pursue  the  enemy,  and,  with  the  3d 
infantry,  Captain  Ker's  dragoons,  and  Captain  Duncan's  battery,  followed 
him  rapidly  to  the  river,  making  a  number  of  prisoners.  Great  numbers 
of  the  enemy  were  drowned  in  attempting  to  cross  the  river  near  the  town. 
The  corps  last-mentioned  encamped  near  the  river — the  remainder  of  the 
army  on  the  field  of  battle. 

"The  strength  of  our  marching  force  on  this  day  was  173  officers,  and 
2049  men — aggregate  2222.  The  actual  number  engaged  with  the  enemy 
did  not  exceed  1700.  Our  loss  was  three  officers  killed,  and  twelve 
wounded;  thirty-six  men  killed,  and  seventy-one  wounded.  Among  the 
officers  killed,  I  have  to  regret  the  loss  of  Lieutenant  Inge,  2d  dragoons, 
who  fell  at  the  head  of  his  platoon,  while  gallantly  charging  the  enemy's 
battery ;  of  Lieutenant  Chadbourne,  of  the  8th  infantry,  and  Lieutenant 
Cochrane,  of  the  4th,  who  likewise  met  their  death  in  the  thickest  of  the 
fight.  The  wounded  officers  were — Lieutenant  Colonel  Payne,  Inspector 
General ;  Lieutenant  Dobbins,  3d  infantry,  serving  with  the  light  infantry 
advance,  slightly ;  Lieutenant  Colonel  Mclntosh,  5th  infantry,  severely 


BATTLE  OF  RESACA  DE  LA  PALMA. 


29 


LIEUTENANT-COLONEL    PAYNE. 


(twice) ;  Lieutenant  Fowler,  5th  infantry,  slightly ;  Captain  Montgomery, 
8th  infantry,  slightly  ;  Lieutenants  Gates  and  Jordan,  8th  infantry,  severely, 
(each  twice);  Lieutenants  Selden,  Maclay,  Burbank  and  Morris,  8th  in 
fantry,  slightly. 

"I  have  no  accurate  data  from  which  to  estimate  the  enemy's  force  on 
this  day.  He  was  known  to  have  been  reinforced  after  the  action  of  the 
8th,  both  by  cavalry  and  infantry,  and  no  doubt  to  an  extent  at  least  equal 
to  his  loss  on  that  day.  It  is  probable  that  6000  men  were  opposed  to  us, 
and  in  a  position  chosen  by  themselves,  and  strongly  defended  with  artil 
lery.  The  enemy's  loss  was  very  great.  Nearly  300  of  his  dead  were 
buried  by  us  on  the  day  succeeding  the  battle.  His  loss  in  killed,  wounded, 
and  missing,  in  the  two  affairs  of  the  8th  and  9th,  is,  I  think,  moderately 
estimated  at  1000  men. 

"Ojir  victory  has  been  decisive.  A  small  force  has  overcome  immense 
odds  of  the  best  troops  that  Mexico  can  furnish — veteran  regiments,  per 
fectly  equipped  and  appointed.  Eight  pieces  of  artillery,  several  colours 
and  standards,  a  great  number  of  prisoners,  (including  fourteen  officers,) 
and  a  large  amount  of  baggage  and  public  property,  fell  into  our  hands. 


30 


EFFECTS    OF    TAYLOR  S    VICTORIES. 


CAPTAIN     MAT. 


"The  causes  of  our  victory  are,  doubtless,  to  be  found  in  the  superior 
quality  of  our  officers  and  men." 

It  is  difficult  to  speak  with  moderation  on  these  two  brilliant  actions. 
The  excitement,  which  the  first  promulgation  of  the  news  created  through 
out  the  Union,  may  be  imagined  but  not  described.  It  created  a  feeling 
of  excitement  and  enthusiasm — an  impulse  towards  military  adventure, 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  Preparations  were  made 
in  every  direction  for  calling  forth  volunteers — increasing  the  regular 
army — fitting  out  vessels  of  war — for  the  display  of  a  land  and  sea  force, 
unprecedented  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

In  less  than  two  weeks,  the  United  States,  throughout  their  length  and 
breadth,  were  converted,  as  it  were,  into  a  camp.  From  the  most  northern 
part  of  Maine  to  the  orange  groves  of  Florida — from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific — nothing  was  heard  of  but  the  din  of  military  preparations — the 
proclamations  of  governors — the  mustering  of  forces — and  the  shouts  of 
volunteers,  produced  by  a  nation's  leaping  at  once  into  arms.  In  fact,  the 
transition  of  this  vast  confederacy  into  one  magnificent  camp,  from  the  first 


CAPTURE    OF    MATAMOROS. 


31 


M  AT  AMOROS. 


Call  to  arms,  was  as  rapid  and  as  quick  as  the  masterly  evolutions  and  ad 
mirable  discipline  which  gave  victory  to  the  American  arms,  in  both  the 
battles  on  the  Rio  Grande. 

The  battles  of  the  8th  and  9th  of  May  were  speedily  followed  by  the 
capture  of  Matamoros. 

After  the  occupancy  of  Matamoros  by  our  army,  General  Taylor  de 
spatched  all  the  cavalry  (regular  and  irregular)  of  the  army,  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Garland,  to  pursue  the  retreating  army 
and  harass  its  rear,  and  if  possible  to  capture  prisoners  and  baggage. 
They  returned  on  the  22d,  having  succeeded  in  capturing  a  small  rear 
party,  after  a  trifling  skirmish  in  the  night,  in  which  two  were  killed  on  the 
Mexican  side,  and  two  slightly  wounded  on  our  own.  The  route  of  the 
retreating  army  was  pursued  for  sixty  miles  ;  the  scarcity  of  water  and 
the  condition  of  the  horses  making  it  useless  to  proceed  farther. 

The  town  of  Barita  was  occupied  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Wilson  without 
the  least  opposition. 

Our  army,  the  moment  they  entered  Matamoros,  instituted  a  search  for 
the  public  stores,  which  were  known  to  be  concealed  in  the  town,  and  suc 
ceeded  in  recovering,  from  the  places  where  they  had  been  hid,  two  field- 
pieces,  several  hundred  muskets,  and  two  or  three  hundred  shells. 

Our  army  was  necessarily  detained  at  Matamoros  for  some  length  of  time, 
for  the  want  of  suitable  transportation  to  carry  on. offensive  operations. 
Information  of  this  fact  was  forwarded  to  the  seat  of  government  by  Ge- 


32 


WANT   OF    TRANSPORTATION. 


AMERICAN     ABMT      ENTERING      MARIH. 

neral  Taylor  in  his  despatch,  dated  June  3d.  He  had  not  a  steamboat  at 
his  command  suitable  for  the  navigation  of  the  Rio  Grande ;  and  without 
water  transportation,  he  considered  it  useless  to  make  any  extensive  move 
ment. 

"  For  any  operations  in  the  direction  of  Monterey,"  says  General  Taylor, 
"  it  will  be  necessary  to  establish  a  large  depot  at  Camargo,  which  I  shall 
lose  no  time  in  doing  as  soon  as  the  proper  transports  arrive,  unless  I  re 
ceive  counter-instructions  from  the  department. 

"  I  trust  the  department  will  see  that  I  could  not  possibly  have  antici 
pated  the  arrival  of  such  heavy  reinforcements  from  Louisiana  as  are  now 
here,  and  on  their  way  hither.  Without  large  means  of  transportation,  this 
force  will  embarrass  rather  than  facilitate  our  operations.  I  cannot  doubt 
that  the  department  has  already  given  instructions,  based  upon  the  change 
in  our  position,  since  my  first  call  for  volunteers." 

Large  reinforcements  of  volunteers  from  the  various  States  of  the  Union 
were  now  constantly  arriving  at  Matamoro^s,  and  taking  up  their  quarters 
in  that  town ;  but  their  not  bringing  with  them  any  facilities  for  water 
transport,  rendered  them  only  an  embarrassment  to  the  army. 

Early  in  July,  however,  the  means  of  transportation  arrived,  and  Reynosa, 
Mier,  China,  Camargo,  and  Marin  were  entered  without  opposition  and 
successively  occupied  by  our  troops  in  their  onward  march  towards  the 
city  of  Monterey ;  the  latter  being  a  place  of  the  utmost  importance,  as  it 
guarded  the  road  to  the  interior.  These  towns  were  all  occupied  by  our 


ADVANCE    TO    MONTEREY.  33 

troops,  without  any  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants.  Leaving  a 
small  detachment  at  each  of  these  places,  as  a  garrison,  General  Taylor 
proceeded  with  the  main  body  of  the  army  towards  Monterey ;  and  arrived 
at  the  "  Walnut  Springs,"  three  miles  distant  from  Monterey,  on  the  even 
ing  of  the  19th  of  September. 

The  city  of  Monterey  is  situated  in  a  beautiful  and  fertile  valley,  com 
pletely  land-locked  by  immense  mountains  on  the  west,  north,  and  south  ; 
from  the  east  it  is  approached  by  an  open  plain,  while  on  all  the  other  sides 
the  gorges  of  the  mountains  form  the  only  thoroughfare.  The  city  itself  is 
strongly  fortified  with  large  stone-works,  surrounded  by  deep  ditches,  and 
all  the  appurtenances  of  a  strong  military  position.  In  addition  to  this, 
every  church  has  been  converted  into  a  fortress,  every  street  barricaded,  and 
every  house-top  presented  a  parapet  bristling  with  musketry.  So  perfect 
had  been  the  precaution  of  the  enemy,  that  every  road  leading  towards  the 
city  from  the  east,  was  raked  by  a  heavy  cross-fire  of  twelve-pounders.  The 
side  and  rear  approaches  were  commanded  by  the  Bishop's  Palace,  well  forti 
fied  by  a  redoubt  which  commanded  the  Palace,  and  by  a  second  redoubt,  still 
higher  up  the  hill  side,  which  commanded  the  first ;  in  the  rear  of  all  these 
runs  the  river  San  Juan.  It  was  this  position,  well  garrisoned,  well  victualled, 
filled  with  heavy  cannon  and  an  immense  supply  of  the  munitions  of  war,  that 
our  army  approached  with  less  than  7000  men,  many  of  whom  were  raw 
volunteers. 

Towards  the  end  of  August,  General  Worth  was  ordered  by  General 
Taylor  to  advance  with  his  division  from  Camargo  to  Seralvo,  and  there 
await  further  orders.  From  this  post  he  sent  advices  to  General  Taylor, 
on  the  5th  of  September,  that  Monterey  had  been  reinforced  by  a  large 
force  of  Mexicans,  under  the  command  of  General  Ampudia. 

This  important  information  determined  General  Taylor  to  advance  im 
mediately  and  attack  Monterey.  He  accordingly  took  up  his  line  of  march 
towards  Seralvo  on  the  7th,  leaving  General  Patterson  in  command  of  all 
the  forces  stationed  at  the  various  posts  between  Camargo  and  Matamoros. 
On  his  arrival  at  Seralvo,  instead  of  waiting  for  further  reinforcements,  he 
pushed  forward  with  the  main  body  of  his  army,  consisting  of  but  little 
more  than  six  thousand  men,  and  arrived  before  Monterey  on  the  morning 
of  the  19th,  establishing  his  camp  at  the  "Walnut  Springs,"  within  three 
miles  of  the  city. 

On  the  20th,  General  Worth,  with  the  division  under  his  command,  was 
ordered  by  General  Taj^or  to  move  by  a  circuitous  route  to  the  right,  to  gain 
the  Saltillo  road  beyond  the  west  of  the  town,  to  storm  the  heights  above  the 
Bishop's  Palace,  which  vital  point  the  enemy  appeared  to  have  well  fortified. 

Various  circumstances  prevented  General  Worth  from  reaching  the 
intended  position,  until  the  morning  of  the  21st,  and  after  an  encounter 
with  a  large  force  of  Mexican  cavalry  and  infantry,  supported  by  artillery 
5 


34 


STORMING    OF    MONTEREY. 


from  the  heights,  he  repulsed  them  with  loss,  and  finally  encamped, 
covering  the  passage  of  the  Saltillo  road.  It  was  here  discovered,  that 
besides  the  fort  at  the  Bishop's  Palace,  and  the  fortified  heights  above  it,  two 
forts,  on  commanding  eminences  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  palace,  had 
also  been  fortified  and  occupied  by  the  Mexicans. 

To  favour  the  enterprise  of  Worth  in  the  rear,  the  first  division  of  regular 
troops,  under  General  Twiggs,  and  the  volunteer  division  under  General 
Butler,  were  ordered  to  make  a  diversion  against  the  centre  and  left  of  the 
town.  A  heavy  fire  was  now  opened  from  all  the  Mexican  batteries  upon 
the  advancing  Americans,  and  for  a  time  was  most  destructive.  Ere  this 
day  closed,  Worth  had  successfully  stormed  and  carried  the  two  principal 
redoubts  in  the  rear  of  the  town,  and  immediately  turned  the  enemy's  guns 
upon  the  Palace.  A  small  force  of  the  Americans,  detached  to  favour  the 
movements  of  Worth,  entered  the  town  under  a  heavy  fire  of  artillery  from 
the  citadel  and  works  to  the  left  of  the  town,  and  of  musketry  from  the 
houses  and  small  works  in  front.  After  entering  the  town,  a  movement 
was  made  towards  the  right,  with  a  view  of  gaining  the  rear  of  one  of  the 
principal  forts  and  carrying  it.  This  was  effected,  but  not  without  a  very 


STORMING    OF    MONTEREY. 


35 


BISHOP     S     PALACE,     MONTEREY. 


heavy  loss  on  the  part  of  the  Americans,  embracing  some  of  their  most 
gallant  and  accomplished  officers.  The  division  under  General  Worth  sus 
tained  comparatively  little  loss. 

The  22d  passed  without  any  active  operations  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
city.  The  citadel  and  other  works  continued  to  fire  at  parties  exposed  to 
their  range,  and  at  the  work  which  was  occupied  by  the  Americans.  One 
of  the  principal  batteries  of  the  Americans,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Bragg,  was  placed  under  cover  in  front  of  the  town,  to  repel  any  demon 
stration  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  in  that  quarter.  At  the  dawn  of  day,  the 
two  remaining  heights  above  the  Bishop's  Palace  were  stormed  and  carried 
by  General  Worth's  division,  and  early  in  the  afternoon  the  Palace  itself 
was  taken,  and  its  guns  turned  upon  the  fugitive  garrison  and  the  town, 
which  latter,  being  so  distant,  was  little  injured. 

During  the  night  of  the  22d,  the  Mexicans  evacuated  nearly  all  their 
defences  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  and  threw  the  main  body  of  their 
force  into  the  cathedral  and  principal  defences  of  the  centre  of  the  town. 
The  abandoned  works  were  immediately  occupied  by  the  Americans,  who 
opened  a  heavy  fire,  both  of  artillery  and  musketry,  upon  the  defences  of 
the  Mexicans.  This  day's  fight  is  said  to  have  been  worth  seeing;  it  was 
sublimely  magnificent.  The  Americans  advanced  from  house  to  house, 
and  from  street  to  street,  until  they  reached  a  street  but  one  square  in  rear 
of  the  principal  plaza,  in  and  near  which  the  Mexicans  were  mainly  con 
centrated.  This  advance  was  conducted  vigorously,  and  with  due  caution, 
and  although  destructive  to  the  Mexicans,  was  attended  with  but  small  loss 


STORMING   OF    MONTEREY, 


CITADZt    AND    TOWN    OF    1{  ON  T  3  R  Z  Y  . 

on  the  part  of  the  Americans,  Deeming  it  imprudent  to  advance  farther, 
General  Taylor  withdrew  his  troops  to  the  evacuated  forts,  and  concerted 
with  General  Worth  for  a  combined  attack  ropon  the  points  still  held  by 
the  enemy. 

Simultaneously  with  the  evacuation  of  the  works  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  town,  the  works  at  the  upper  extremity  were  for  the  most  part  aban 
doned,  which  enabled  General  Worth  to  pu»h  his  division  still  further  into 
the  town.  Before  night  the  Americans  had  entered  the  city  at  all  points, 
driving  the  enemy  to  the  cover  of  the  principal  works  in  the  centre  of  the 
town,  All  night  long  the  mortar  (which  bad  been  sent  to  General  Worth's 
division  in  the  morning)  did  good  execution,  within  effective  range  of  the 
enemy's  position. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  24th,  General  Taylor  received  a  communi 
cation  from  General  Ampudia,  commander-in-chief  of  the  Mexican  force, 
proposing  to  evacuate  the  town  upon  certain  conditions*  to  be  agreed  upon 
by  the  commanding  officers  of  both  armies.  The  terms  of  the  capitula 
tion  of  the  city  were  in  substance  these  :  That  the  Mexican  forces  evacuate 

yt 
the  city,  which  was  to  be  delivered  up  fo  the  Americans.     The  Mexicans 

should  march  out  with  their  muskets  and  twenty  rounds  of  cartridges,  and 
six  pieces  of  cannon.  That  the  Mexicans  (during  an  armistice  of  six 
weeks)  should  not  appear  this  side  of  a  line  running  through  Leinares, 


CAPTURE  OF  MONTEREY, 


o»y 

o7 


STRSET  FIOHT  AT  MONTEREY, 


and  terminating  at  Rinconada ;  and   the  Americans  should  not  advance 
beyond  it. 

Upon  occupying  the  city,  the  Americans  discovered  it  to  be  of  great 
strength  in  itself,  and  all  its  approaches  carefully  and  strongly  fortified. 
The  town  and  works  were  armed  with  forty-two  pieces  of  cannon,  well 
supplied  with  ammunition,  and  manned  with  a  force  of  at  least  seven 
thousand  troops  of  the  line,  and  from  two  thousand  to  three  thousand  irre 
gulars.  The.  whole  effective  force  of  the  Americans  was  four  hundred  and 
twenty-five  officers,  and  six  thousand*" two  hundred  and  twenty  men — 
aggregate  six  thousand  six  hundred  and  forty-five.  The  artillery  of  the 
Americans  consisted  of  one  ten-inch  mortar,  two  twenty-four  pounder  how 
itzers,  and  four  light  field-batteries  of  four  guns  each — the  mortar  being 
the  only  piece  suitable  to  the  operations  of  a  siege. 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  was  twelve  officers  and  one  hundred  and 
eight  men  killed ;  thirty-one  officers  and  three  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
men  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  Mexicans  not  known,  but  it  considerably 
exceeded  that  of  the  Americans. 

Monterey  now  became  the  head-quarters  of  the  main  body  of  the  regular 
army.  This  city  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  Mexico,  having  been  built  by  the 
Spaniards  nearly  three  centuries  ago.  It  is  nearly  two  miles  long  and  one 
mile  wide,  with  streets  running  parallel,  crossed  by  others  at  right  angles. 
The  city  contains  three  plazas  or  squares,  upon  the  main  one  of  which 

D 


38 


POSITION    OF    THE    ARMY 


STORMING     0  ?    MONTBBBT. 


stands  the  principal  cathedral.     This  building,  during  the  attack,  was  used 
by  the  Mexicans  as  a  depository  for  military  stores. 

The  houses  are  of  one  story,  with  walls  of  strong  mason-work,  thirty 
inches  in  thickness,  rising  three  or  four  feet  above  the  roof.  These  walls, 
rising  in  the  manner  they  do,  afforded  the  Mexicans  a  powerful  means  of 
defence.  The  reduction,  and  subsequent  occupation  of  this  city,  was  ne 
cessary,  as  it  commanded  one  of  the  principal  passes  to  the  interior,  and  its 
capital.  After  establishing  the  head-quarters  of  his  army  at  this  place, 
General  Taylor  detached  Brigadier-general  Worth,  with  twelve  hundred 
men  and  eight  pieces  of  artillery,  to  Saltillo.  Brigadier-general  Wool,  and 
the  column  under  his  command,  two  thousand  four  hundred  strong,  with  six 
pieces  of  artillery,  were  ordered  to  occupy  the  town  of  Parras,  lying  seventy 
miles  north-east  of  Saltillo.  Saltillo,  to  which  Worth  was  ordered,  is  about 
seventy  miles  from  Monterey,  and  at  an  elevation  of  two  thousand  feet 
above  the  latter  place.  These  two  places  were  occupied  by  the  Americans 
without  any  opposition,  the  enemy  having  fallen  back  as  far  as  San  Luis 
Potosi. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  government  of  Mexico  had  undergone  a  serious 
change.  Paredes  had  been  deposed,  and  Santa  Anna,  who  had  been  exiled, 
was  recalled,  and  placed  at  the  head  of  affairs.  Immediately  after  his  ar 
rival  at  the  capital,  he  set  about  raising  a  formidable  army  to  resist  the 
further  advance  of  General  Taylor.  Before  the  close  of  the  year,  he  had 
succeeded  in  raising  twenty  thousand  men,  and  concentrating  them  at  San 
Luis  Potosi,  which  place  he  strongly  fortified  and  filled  with  military  stores. 

General  Taylor  waited  for  the  advance  of  this  formidable  force  for  some 


GENERAL    SCOTT    SENT    TO    VERA    CRUZ.  39 


VESA     CRUZ. 


time,  and  at  last  determined  to  meet  and  attack  them  upon  their  own  ground. 
He  accordingly  set  out  with  his  force  for  Victoria,  where  he  arrived  on  the 
30th  of  December. 

General  Taylor  was  now  superseded  in  the  supreme  command  of  the 
American  army  in  Mexico,  by  General  Scott,  the  commander-in-chief,  who 
drew  from  General  Taylor  the  main  body  of  the  regular  and  volunteer  force 
then  under  his  command,  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  fleet  in  the  Gulf, 
in  the  reduction  of  Vera  Cruz  and  the  Castle  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa.  Gene 
ral  Taylor  was  ordered  to  fall  back  to  Monterey,  to  await  the  arrival  of 
the  fresh  recruits — volunteers  which  had  been  ordered  by  Congress  to  take 
the  field  before  he  advanced  any  farther  into  the  interior.  On  reaching 
Monterey,  his  regular  force  was  but  six  hundred  men,  including  the  com 
pany  of  dragoons  under  the  command  of  Captain  May.  In  February, 
1847,  he  had  received  reinforcements  raising  his  army  to  nearly  six  thou 
sand  men ;  and  anticipating  an  attempt,  on  the  part  of  Santa  Anna,  on  the 
line  of  posts  between  himself  and  Matamoros,  he  determined  to  advance 
and  fight  a  pitched  battle  with  him.  Accordingly,  the  army  under  his 
command  took  up  the  line  of  march,  and,  on  the  20th  of  February,  en 
camped  at  Agua  Nueva,  (new  water,)  eighteen  miles  south  of  Saltillo;  but 
learning  from  one  of  his  scouts  that  Santa  Anna  was  within  twenty  miles 
of  his  position,  rapidly  advancing  with  twenty  thousand  men,  he  broke  up 
his  camp  at  Agua  Nueva,  and  fell  back  to  a  well-chosen  position  in  front 
of  Buena  Vista,  seven  miles  south  of  Saltillo. 

The  position  chosen  by  General  Taylor  for  his  battle-ground  was  an 
admirable  one.  The  mountains  rise  on  either  side  of  an  irregular  and 


40 


BATTLE    OF   BUENA    VISTA. 


GENERAL     W  O  0  It . 


broken  valley,  nearly  three  miles  in  width,  which  is  dotted  here  and  there 
with  hills  and  ridges. 

On  the  right  of  the  American  line  ran  a  deep  ravine,  which  protected  that 
flank  more  effectually  than  half  a  dozen  regiments  could  have  done.  The 
left  was  protected  by  the  mountains,  and  a  succession  of  rugged  ridges  and 
precipitous  ravines.  The  peculiarities  of  this  position  supplied,  in  a  great 
measure,  the  disadvantage  of  so  vast  an  inferiority  of  numbers. 

On  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  February,  the  Mexicans  were  seen  ap 
proaching  in  immense  numbers,  over  the  distant  hills.  Their  officers  and 
engineers  were  distinctly  seen  flying  over  the  field,  dragging  their  cannon, 
(thirty-two  in  number,)  about  to  put  them  into  position. 

At  eleven  o'clock,  General  Taylor  was  waited  upon  by  Surgeon  Leigen- 
burgh  of  the  Mexican  army,  who  carried  a  white  flag,  and  a  communication 
from  his  commander.  In  this  note  Santa  Anna  stated  his  force  at  twenty 
thousand  men,  from  which,  as  he  supposed,  it  was  impossible  for  his 
antagonist  to  escape;  but  on  account  of  the  American  general  deserving 
particular  attention  and  esteem,  he  afforded  him  an  opportunity  to  sur 
render  at  discretion,  under  the  assurance  that  he  would  be  treated  with 


BATTLE    OF    BUENA    VISTA.  41 

proper  respect.  An  hour's  time  was  allowed  for  reflection.  The  American 
general  immediately  wrote  the  following  answer : 

"  In  reply  to  your  note  of  this  date,  summoning  me  to  surrender  my 
forces  at  discretion,  I  beg  leave  to  say  that  I  decline  acceding  to  your 
request." 

Immediately  after  the  return  of  the  messenger  to  General  Santa  Anna's 
camp,  the  Mexicans  opened  the  fire  of  their  artillery  upon  the  American 
lines,  which,  though  kept  up  briskly,  did  so  little  execution  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Americans,  that  it  was  considered  unnecessary  to  return  it. 

Just  before  dark,  a  number  of  Santa  Anna's  infantry,  having  succeeded 
in  getting  a  position  high  up  the  mountains,  to  the  left  of  the  Americans, 
opened  a  most  tremendous  fire  upon  their  flank.  The  fire  was  returned 
by  a  portion  of  the  Kentucky  mounted  regiment,  under  Colonel  Marshall, 
who  were  dismounted  and  detached  for  that  purpose.  The  skirmishing 
continued  until  dark,  with  no  result  to  the  Americans  but  the  wounding  of 
three  men  slightly. 

During  the  night,  a  Mexican  prisoner  was  taken,  who  reported  that  the 
Mexican  force  consisted  of  fifteen  thousand  infantry,  and  six  thousand 
cavalry,  thus  confirming  the  statement  of  his  superior. 

At  sunrise,  on  the  morning  of  the  23d,  the  battle  began  in  earnest,  Gen 
eral  Wool  directing  the  details  of  the  action.  The  Mexicans  were  drawn 
out  in  immense  numbers.  The  dark  lines  of  their  infantry  extended 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and  their  cavalry  seemed  to  cover  the 
whole  view  with  their  interminable  lines.  From  the  movements  soon  per 
ceptible  along  the  left  of  the  American  line,  it  became  evident  that  the 
Mexicans  were  attempting  to  turn  that  flank,  and  for  this  purpose  had  con 
centrated  a  large  body  of  cavalry  and  infantry.  To  prevent  this  movement 
of  the  enemy,  General  Taylor  ordered  Sherman's  and  Bragg's  batteries  to 
the  left,  the  second  Illinois  regiment,  under  Colonel  Bissel,  occupying  a  posi 
tion  between  them ;  while  the  second  Kentucky  regiment  was  transferred 
from  the  right  of  the  line,  so  as  to  hold  a  position  near  the  centre.  The 
extreme  left  was  supported  by  the  second  Indiana  regiment,  under  Colonel 
Bowles  :  this  regiment  was  placed  so  as  to  oppose,  by  a  direct  fire,  the  flank 
movements  of  the  enemy.  As  soon  as  these  dispositions  had  been  effected, 
both  armies  opened  the  fires  of  their  artillery,  and  at  the  same  moment  the 
Mexican  infantry  commenced  a  rapid  fire  of  musketry.  The  fire  of  the 
enemy  was  received  with  great  firmness  by  the  Americans,  who  returned 
an  ample  equivalent :  each  regiment  vying  with  the  other  in  the  honourable 
ambition  of  doing  the  best  service  to  their  country. 

While  this  fierce  conflict  was  going  on,  the  enemy's  cavalry  had  been 
slowly  pursuing  its  way  along  the  mountain  defiles,  and,  though  the  Ame 
rican  artillery  had  wrought  great  havoc  among  its  numbers,  the  leading 
squadrons  were  almost  in  position  to  attack  the  Americans  in  the  rear.  To 
6  D2 


42 


BATTLE    OF    BUENA   VISTA. 


BATTLE     OP    BUENA    VISTA. 


prevent  this  movement  of  the  enemy,  the  American  artillery  was  advanced, 
its  front  extended,  and  its  whole  fire  opened  upon  the  ranks  of  the  enemy, 
completely  dispersing  them. 

The  battery  on  the  right  had  now  opened  its  fire,  and  had  driven  back, 
with  an  immense  loss,  a  large  body  of  Mexican  lancers,  advancing  in  that 
direction.  The  battle  now  raged  with  fury — the  discharges  of  the  infantry, 
and  the  volleys  of  artillery  followed  each  other  in  rapid  succession,  and 
deadly  was  the  effect.  Twice  more  did  the  Mexican  cavalry  rally  their 
scattered  numbers,  and  twice  were  they  driven  back,  in  utter  confusion, 
after  the  last  charge  taking  refuge  among  the  mountains,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  valley. 

About  the  same  time  the  2d  Illinois  regiment,  under  Colonel  Bissel, 
having  become  completely  outflanked,  was  compelled  to  fall  back.  Col. 
Marshall's  light  troops,  on  the  extreme  left,  came  down  from  their  moun 
tainous  position,  and  joined  the  American  main  army.  Masses  of  cavalry 
and  infantry  were  now  pouring  through  the  defiles  on  the  American  left, 
in  order  to  gain  the  rear  north  of  the  large  plateau.  At  this  moment 
General  Taylor  arrived  upon  the  field  from  Saltillo.  As  the  Mexican 
infantry  turned  the  American  flank,  they  came  in  contact  with  Colonel 
Davis's  Mississippi  riflemen,  posted  on  a  plateau  north  of  the  principal 
one.  The  2d  Kentucky  regiment  and  a  section  of  artillery,  under  Captain 
Bragg,  had  previously  been  ordered  to  this  position  from  the  right,  and 
arrived  at  a  most  important  crisis.  As  the  masses  of  the  enemy  emerged 
from  the  defiles,  to  the  table-land  above,  they  opened  upon  the  riflemen, 


BATTLE    OF    BUENA    VISTA. 


43 


DAVIS    S     RIFLEMEN     RBPCTLSINQ    TH3    MBXIOAN     OAVALB.Y. 

and  the  battle  soon  became  deeply  interesting.  The  lancers  meanwhile 
were  drawing  up  for  a  charge.  The  artillery  on  each  side  was  in  an  in 
cessant  blaze,  and  one  sheet  of  sparkling  fire  flashed  from  the  small  arms 
of  both  lines.  Then  the  cavalry  came  dashing  down,  in  dense  column, 
their  dress  and  arms  glittering  in  the  sun,  seemingly  in  strange  contrast 
with  their  work  of  death.  All  around  was  clamour  and  hurry,  drowning 
the  shouts  of  command,  and  groans  of  the  dying.  Davis  gave  the  order  to 
fire,  a  report  from  hundreds  of  the  rifles  rang  along  his  line,  and  mangled 
heaps  of  the  enemy  sunk  to  the  ground.  Struck  with  dismay,  the  lace 
rated  host  heaved  back,  while  in  mad  confusion,  horse  trod  down  horse, 
crushing  wounded  and  dying  beneath  their  hoofs  in  the  reckless  rushings 
of  retreat.  The  day  was  once  more  saved. 

At  the  same  time  the  Kentucky  regiment,  supported  by  Bragg's  artillery, 
had  driven  back  the  enemy's  infantry,  and  recovered  a  portion  of  the  lost 
ground.  The  latter  officer  then  moved  his  pieces  to  the  main  plateau, 
where,  in  company  with  Captain  Sherman,  he  did  much  execution,  par 
ticularly  upon  the  masses  that  were  in  the  rear.  General  Taylor  placed 
all  the  regular  cavalry  and  Captain  Pike's  squadron  of  horse  under  the 
orders  of  Brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  May,  with  directions  to  hold  in  check 
the  enemy's  column  still  advancing  to  the  rear  along  the  base  of  the  moun 
tain.  May  posted  himself  north  of  the  ravine,  through  which  the  enemy 
were  moving  towards  Buena  Vista,  in  order  to  charge  them  as  they  ap 
proached  that.  The  enemy,  however,  still  continued  to  advance,  until 
almost  the  whole  American  artillery  were  playing  upon  them.  At  length 
unable  to  stand  the  fearful  slaughter,  their  ranks,  fell  into  confusion,  some 


44  BATTLE    OF    BTJENA   VISTA. 


GENERAL    TAYLOR    AND     CAPTAIN    BBAQQ     AT    BTJENA    VISTA. 

of  the  corps  attempting  to  effect  a  retreat  upon  their  main  line  of  battle. 
To  prevent  this,  the  general  ordered  the  1st  dragoons,  under  Lieutenant 
Rucker,  to  ascend  the  deep  ravine,  which  these  corps  were  endeavouring 
to  cross,  and  disperse  them.  The  squadron,  however,  were  unable  to  ac 
complish  their  object,  in  consequence  of  a  heavy  fire  from  a  battery  covering 
the  enemy's  retreat. 

The  fortunes  of  the  day  were  now  with  the  Americans.  Santa  Anna 
saw  the  probable  result,  and  by  craft  and  cunning  sought  to  avert  it.  He 
sent  a  white  flag  to  General  Taylor,  desiring  the  bearer  to  ask  him  "  what 
he  wanted."  The  answer  returned  by  General  Taylor  was,  "  that  he 
wanted  peace."  The  flag,  however,  only  proved  a  ruse  on  the  part  of 
Santa  Anna,  in  order  that  he  might  gain  time  to  collect  his  scattered  forces. 
This  he  effected,  notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  the  Americans  to  prevent  it. 

The  Mexicans  now  came  on  in  large  numbers,  and  the  carnage  for  some 
time  was  dreadful  on  both  sides.  The  Americans  were  but  a  handful  to 
oppose  the  frightful  masses  that  were  ever  and  anon  hurled  upon  them. 
A  superior  force  of  the  enemy  engaged  the  second  Illinois  and  second  Ken 
tucky  regiments,  and  completely  overwhelmed  them  by  numbers.  Captain 
O'Brien,  with  two  pieces  of  artillery,  sustained  this  heavy  charge  to  the 
last,  but  was  finally  compelled  to  leave  his  guns  on  the  field,  his  infantry 
support  being  entirely  routed.  The  moment  was  now  most  critical ;  the 
day  seemed  lost  beyond  redemption  to  the  Americans.  Victory,  which  a 
very  short  time  before  appeared  within  their  grasp,  was  as  suddenly  torn 
from  them. 

At  this  critical  moment,  Captain  Bragg,  who  had  just  arrived  from  the 


BATTLE    OF    BUENA   VISTA.  45 

left,  was,  by  General  Taylor,  ordered  at  onc^  into  battery.  Without  any 
infantry  to  support  him,  and  at  the  momentary  risk  of  losing  his  guns,  this 
gallant  officer  opened  a  heavy  fire  upon  the  Mexican  line,  which  was  but 
a  few  yards  from  the  muzzles  of  his  pieces.  The  first  volley  caused  the 
enemy  to  hesitate,  and  the  second  and  third  drove  them  back  in  utter  con 
fusion.  The  second  Kentucky  regiment,  which  had  advanced  beyond 
supporting  distance,  was  attacked  and  driven  back  by  the  Mexican  cavalry. 
Taking  a  ravine  which  led  in  the  direction  of  the  battery  under  Captain 
Washington,  the  cavalry  soon  became  exposed  to  his  fire,  which  checked 
and  drove  them  back  with  severe  loss.  The  remainder  of  the  American 
artillery  now  opened  a  heavy  fire  upon  the  right  flank  of  the  enemy,  and 
thus  contributed  to  his  final  repulse. 

No  further  attempt  was  made  by  the  enemy  upon  the  American  position ; 
and  after  the  last  deadly  fire  of  the  American  artillery,  both  armies  seemed 
willing  to  pause  upon  the  result.  The  Americans  slept  upon  the  field  of 
battle,  prepared,  if  necessary,  to  resume  operations  on  the  morrow.  But 
before  sunrise  on  the  24th,  the  enemy  had  disappeared,  having  retreated  to 
Agua  Nueva,  leaving  only  his  dead  and  dying  on  the  battle-field.  The 
great  disparity  of  numbers,  and  the  exhaustion  of  the  Americans,  rendered 
it  inexpedient  and  hazardous  to  attempt  a  pursuit. 

The  American  force  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  was  three 
hundred  and  thirty-four  officers,  and  four  thousand  four  hundred  and 
twenty-five  men — aggregate  four  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-nine. 
The  remainder  of  the  American  army  was"  stationed  in  and  near  Saltillo, 
for  its  defence.  The  Mexican  force  was  stated  by  General  Santa  Anna,  in 
his  summons,  to  be  twenty  thousand  men. 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  was  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  killed,  four 
hundred  and  fifty-six  wounded,  and  twenty-tkree  missing.  That  of  the 
Mexicans  in  killed  and  wounded  was  nearly  two  thousand ;  deserters  from 
their  ranks  nearly  three  thousand.  Nearly  five  hundred  of  their  dead 
were  left  upon  the  field  of  battle.  Many  officers  of  distinguished  merit 
among  the  Americans  were  killed.  Colonels  Yell,  Hardin,  and  Clay,  were 
particularly  regretted.  Colonel  Clay  was  the  son  of  the  celebrated  Henry 
Clay. 

After  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  General  Taylor  determined  to  open  the 
communication  between  Monterey  and  Camargo,  which  had  been  cut  off 
by  General  Urrea,  at  the  head  of  about  five  thousand  cavalry.  He  im 
mediately  started  in  pursuit  of  this  general,  taking  with  him  Captain 
May's  dragoons,  and  two  companies  of  artillery.  He  pursued  Urrea 
as  far  as  Caidereta,  where  he  ascertained  that  he  had  escaped  beyond  the 
mountains. 

General  Taylor  then  fell  back  on  Monterey.  General  Wool,  with  the 
main  body  of  the  American  army,  had  encamped  at  Buena  Vista.  Both 


46          CHARACTER  OF  GENERAL  TAYLOR. 

generals  awaiting  orders  from  General  Scott  before  proceeding  farther  into 
the  interior. 

The  following  remarks  upon  General  Taylor  are  made  by  Sergeant  Har 
ris  of  the  armjr,  who  is  of  course  personally  acquainted  with  him  : — 

"The  character  of  General  Taylor  is  pretty  much  what  it  is  represented. 
He  is  mild  and  affable,  yet  firm  and  unflinching.  If  a  soldier  under  his 
command  thinks  he  is  aggrieved,  it  is  to  the  general  he  looks  for  redress, 
and  never  fails  in  getting  it,  in  case  General  Taylor,  on  inquiry,  ascertains 
it  to  be  well  founded.  The  'old  man,'  as  he  is  familiarly  termed  by  officers 
and  men,  is  approachable  at  all  hours.  He  will  sit  and  talk  with  the  com 
monest  soldier  in  the  most  affable  manner,  and  my  informant  tells  me  that 
he  has  often  wondered  at  seeing  him  enter  minutely  into  the  private  affairs 
of  the  soldiers  under  his  command,  give  them  his  advice  when  asked,  as  it 
frequently  is,  and  when  that  is  over,  read  to  them  from  the  newspapers  the 
anecdotes  of  the  army,  which  have  made  their  way  into  print  in  the  north 
ern  cities,  at  which  he  would  laugh  as  heartily  as  any  of  them.  He  is 
beloved  by  all  in  his  command,  officers  and  men.  All  take  pleasure  in 
obeying  his  commands  ;  and  when  an  order  is  given  by  him,  there  is  emu 
lation  among  all  who  hear  it,  to  obey  it.  His  treatment  of  the  Mexicans  is 
marked  with  the  same  urbanity.  They,  according  to  my  informant,  at 
least  such  of  them  as  have  been  in  the  habit  of  serving  the  camp  with 
milk  and  other  little  nick-nacks,  love  him  as  much  as  his  own  soldiers  do. 

"On  a  certain  occasion  one  of  these  poor  creatures  complained  to  El  Ca- 
pitan,  that  a  volunteer  had  entered  his  rancho,  and  appropriated  to  his  own 
use  some  of  his  edibles,  without  paying  for  them.  Now  this  was  a  breach 
of  orders  which  General  Taylor  could  not  overlook,  so  he  had  the  marauder 
identified  by  the  Mexican,  and  brought  before  him.  The  general  examined 
and  cross-examined  him,  in  relation  to  the  offence,  for  upwards  of  two  hours, 
at  the  end  of  which  time  he  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  volunteer 
was  not  quite  so  much  to  blame  as  the  accuser  represented,  but  thought  him 
deserving  of  some  punishment,  and  what  was  the  punishment  do  you  sup 
pose  he  inflicted  upon  him  ?  Why,  he  directed  a  barrel  to  be  placed  in 
front  of  his  tent,  directed  the  volunteer  to  mount  it,  and  kept  him  standing 
there  for  two  hours.  At  the  end  of  which  he  gave  him  a  few  words  about 
not  doing  the  like  again,  &c.,  and  sent  him  back  to  his  quarters.  Occa 
sionally  it  occurs  that  a  man  will  want  to  write  a  letter  to  his  friends,  and 
has  no  materials  to  do  so.  Without  hesitation  he  applies  to  the  '  old  man,' 
and  gets  all  he  wants,  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  and  wafer,  which  comes  from 
his  private  stock,  which  is  always  at  the  service  of  the  soldiers." 

We  have  all  heard  the  soubriquet  of  Rough  and  Ready  had  its  origin 
in  the  Florida  war,  in  which  General  Taylor  treated  the  red-skins  in  the 
roughest  way  and  in.  the  readiest  manner ;  but  I  have  not  seen  it  stated 
when  it  was  first  used  in  this  war.  According  to  Sergeant  Harris,  it  was 


GENERAL    TAYLOR   AND    THE    DESERTER.  47 

in  this  way :  "After  the  memorable  battles  of  Resaca  de  la  Palma  and  Palo 
Alto,  the  old  general  directed  the  men  to  be  brought  up  before  him  in  re 
view,  which  was  of  course  done.  While  reviewing  them,  to  see,  no  doubt, 
how  they  looked  after  their  scrimmage  with  the  yellow  bellies,  an  olcl 
soldier,  who  served  under  him  in  the  Florida  war,  proposed  at  the  top  of 
his  voice,  '  Three  cheers  for  old  Rough  and  Ready ;'  which  were  given  with 
all  the  honours.  As  soon  as  they  had  subsided,  the  old  general,  every 
feature  in  his  open  countenance  speaking  volumes,  gracefully  took  off  his 
chapeau,  and  returned  thanks,  and  added,  'Gentlemen,  I  would  be  happy 
to  treat  you  all,  but  I  have  got  nothing  except  some  Rio  Grande  water  with 
which  to  do  it.' 

"On  one  occasion,  a  volunteer  getting  tired  of  discipline,  thought  he 
would  relieve  himself  of  it  for  a  time  at  least,  and  with  that  view  absented 
himself  for  a  week  without  leave,  and  made  a  trip  to  the  country.  As  soon 
as  his  absence  was  known  to  the  camp,  he  was  proclaimed  a  deserter,  and 
men  sent  in  pursuit  of  him.  He  returned,  however,  before  he  was  ar 
rested,  and  immediately  made  his  way  to  the  old  general,  and  told  him  in 
mitigation  of  punishment,  that  he  was  always  accustomed  to  open  backwood 
life,  and  it  went  hard  with  him  t'o  be  confined  so  much.  'Well,'  said  the 
general,  'don't  do  so  again, my  boy,  without  leave,'  and  directed  him  to  go 
to  his  quarters.  That  man,  says  my  informant,  thinks  General  Taylor  the 
best  man  Jiving1,  and  he  would  willingly  lose  life  itself  at  his  bidding. 

"General  Taylor's  modesty  is  equalled  by  his  magnanimity.  It  was  not 
known  in  camp  until  three  weeks  after  it  was  known  to  the  general  him 
self,  that  he  had  received  a  brevet,  and  ail  the  army  heard  of  the  sword 
presentation  to  him,  was  through  the  papers." 

Another  writer  says : 

"As  plain  Lieutenant-Colonel  Taylor,  the  writer  of  this  has  often  seen 
'Old  Zach'  putting  his  men  through  the  battalion  drill  on  the  northern 
banks  of  the  Wisconsin  in  the  depths  of  February.  This  would  seem  only 
characteristic  of  the  man  who  has  since  proved  himself  equally  'Rough 
and  Ready'  under  the  scorching  sun  of  the  tropics.  But,  looking  back 
through  long  years  to  many  a  pleasant  hour  spent  in  the  well-selected 
library  of  the  post  which  Colonel  Taylor  then  commanded,  we  recur  now 
with  singular  interest  to  the  agreeable  conversations  held  in  the  room  which 
was  the  Colonel's  favourite  resort  amid  the  intervals  of  duty.  Nor  will  the 
reader  think  these  personal  reminiscences  impertinent,  when  we  add  that 
our  object  in  recurring  to  them  here  is  simply  to  mention  that,  remember 
ing  alike  the  wintry  drill  and  the  snug  book-room,  Taylor's  hardihood — the 
idea  of  which  now  so  readily  attaches  to  his  soubriquet  of  Rough  and 
Ready — would  certainly  not  then  have  struck  a  stranger  as  more  charac 
teristic  than  his  liberal-minded  intelligence.  Remarkable  sincerity  of 
manner,  a  dash  of  humour  amid  diffident  reserve,  blended  with  a  cordiality 


48          CHARACTER  OF  GENERAL  TAYLOR. 

that  for  want  of  a  better  phrase  we  should  call  mesmeric,  characterized  the 
mien  of  the  distinguished  man,  upon  whom  the  eyes  of  all  his  countrymen 
are  now  fixed  with  such  curious  interest.  He  was  one  of  those  few  men 
who  instantly  impress  a  stranger  with  the  idea  of  frankness  and  reality  of 
character,  while  still  suggesting  to  the  imagination  that  there  was  much  to 
study  in  him.  Above  all  was  it  apparent  that  this  singular  modesty  was 
genuine — was  of  the  soul ;  that  he  was  a  man  whose  strong  individuality 
his  nearest  intimates  must  hesitate  to  write  about  and  publish  to  the  world 
in  terms  of  praise.  And  we  know  the  fact  that  in  one  instance  a  friend 
whom  the  General  had  obliged,  when  replying  to  some  newspaper  dispa 
ragement  of  Taylor's  military  standing  and  services  at  the  commencement 
of  the  Florida  war,  was  deterred  by  his  knowledge  of  this  trait  from  com 
municating  his  article  to  the  subject  of  it,  lest  the  terms  of  eulogy  he  had 
employed  might  be  offensive  to  Taylor.  This  dislike  of  puffery,  nay  this 
almost  wayward  turning  one's  back  upon  fame,  is,  however,  perfectly  con 
sistent  with  the  most  jealous  sense  of  what  is  due  to  one's  personal  cha 
racter;  and  that  quality  General  Taylor's  published  correspondence  with 
the  Department  of  War  proves  he  possesses  in  the  most  lively  degree. 
He  there  shows  that  he  leaves  the  laurels  of  the  hero  to  take  care  of  them 
selves,  but  the  rights  and  the  character  of  Zachary  Taylor  must  not  be 
tampered  with.  And  this  is  the  quality  which  will  ever  prevent  him  from 
becoming  the  tool  of  party.  He  is  a  man  that  cannot  be  used  by  others 
save  in  the  line  of  his  duty.  A  man  who  cannot  be  approached  to  be  thus 
used  ;  for  there  is  sometimes  a  shrewd  fire  in  the  glance  of  his  friendly  eye, 
an  epigrammatic  heartiness  of  response  bolting  forth  amid  his  taciturnity, 
that  would  utterly  bewilder  and  confound  the  ordinary  man  of  the  world, 
who  approached  him  with  double-dealing  phrase,  or  selfish  insincerity  of 
purpose. 

"With  regard  to  his  personal  appearance,  of  all  the  portraits  of  General 
Taylor  that  we  have  seen,  and  there  is  one  in  each  of  the  volumes  before 
us,  that  published  in  Graham's  Magazine  strikes  us  as  decidedly  the  best. 
In  some  respects  it  is  flattered,  and  in  others  it  hardly  comes  up  to  the 
strongly  marked  character  expressed  in  the  face  of  the  original ;  as  a  whole, 
however,  it  is  far  more  faithful  than  the  others.  Its  flattery,  we  imagine, 
lies  in  making  Taylor  look  younger  than  he  now  appears.  For  his  looks  in 
the  picture  are  those  which  we  recall  when  seeing  him  just  after  the  close 
of  his  campaign,  now  many  years  gone  by.  The  stamped  medals  published 
lately  by  J.  P.  Ridner  we  should  think  would  better  represent  his  present 
appearance. 

"While  indulging  in  these  gossiping  references,  which  we  know  will 
interest  some  of  our  readers,  we  may  here  relate  an  anecdote  of  General 
Taylor,  which  we  once  heard,  amid  the  early  scenes  of  the  Black  Hawk 
war  on  Rock  river,  and  which,  though  never  verified  to  our  knowledge, 


ANECDOTE.  49 

still  seems  most  characteristic  of  the  Rough  and  Ready  of  later  years. 
Some  time  after  Stillman's  defeat  by  Black  Hawk's  band,  Taylor,  marching 
with  a  large  body  of  volunteers  and  a  handful  of  regulars  in  pursuit  of  the 
hostile  Indian  force,  found  himself  approaching  Rock  river,  then  asserted 
by  many  to  be  the  true  north-western  boundary  of  the  state  of  Illinois. 
The  volunteers,  as  Taylor  was  informed,  would  refuse  to  cross  the  stream. 
They  were  militia,  they  said,  called  out  for  the  defence  of  the  state,  and  it 
was  unconstitutional  to  order  them  to  march  beyond  its  frontier  into  the 
Indian  country.  Taylor  thereupon  halted  his  command,  and  encamped 
within  the  acknowledged  boundaries  of  Illinois.  He  would  not,  as  the 
relator  of  the  story  said,  budge  an  inch  further  without  orders.  He  had 
already  driven  Black  Hawk  out  of  the  state,  but  the  question  of  crossing 
Rock  river  seemed  hugely  to  trouble  his  ideas  of  integrity  to  the  constitu 
tion  on  one  side,  and  military  expediency  on  the  other.  During  the  night, 
however,  orders  came,  either  from  General  Scott  or  General  Atkinson,  for 
him  to  follow  up  Black  Hawk  to  the  last.  The  quietness  of  the  Regular 
colonel  meanwhile  had  rather  encouraged  the  mutinous  militia  to  bring 
their  proceedings  to  a  head.  A  sort  of  town-meeting  was  called  upon  the 
prairie,  and  Taylor  invited  to  attend.  After  listening  for  some  time  very 
quietly  to  the  proceedings,  it  became  Rough  and  Ready's  turn  to  address 
the  chair.  'He  had  heard,'  he  said,  'with  much  pleasure  the  views  which 
several  speakers  had  of  the  independence  and  dignity  of  each  private 
American  citizen.  He  felt  that  all  gentlemen  there  present  were  his 
equals — in  reality  he  was  persuaded  that  many  of  them  would  in  a  few 
years  be  his  superiors,  and  perhaps,  in  the  capacity  of  members  of  Con 
gress,  arbiters  of  the  fortune  and  reputation  of  humble  servants  of  the 
Republic  like  himself.  He  expected  then  to  obey  them  as  interpreters  of 
the  will  of  the  people;  and  the  best  proofs  he  could  give  that  he  would 
obey  them,  was  now  to  observe  the  orders  of  those  whom  the  people  had 
already  put  in  the  places  of  authority,  to  which  many  gentlemen  around 
him  justly  aspired.  In  plain  English,  gentlemen  and  fellow-citizens,  the 
word  has  been  passed  on  to  me  from  Washington  to  follow  Black  Hawk, 
and  take  you  with  me  as  soldiers.  I  mean  to  do  both.  There  are  the  flat- 
boats  drawn  up  on  the  shore,  and  here  are  Uncle  Sam's  men  drawn  up 
behind  you  on  the  prairie.' 

" '  Stra-anger,'  added  the  man  who  told  the  story,  '  the  way  them  militia 
men  sloped  into  those  flat-boats  was  a  caution.  Not  another  word  was 
said.  Ha4  Zach  Taylor  been  with  Van  Rennselaer  at  Niagara  river,  in  the 
last  war,  I  rayther  think  he'd  a  taught  him  how  to  get  militia-men  over  a 
ferry.'" 

After  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  General  Taylor  addressed  the  following 
letter  to  the  Hon,  Henry  Clay,  concerning  the  death  of  his  son,  who  felt 
in  that  battle.  It  shows  that  although  the  general  has  lived  from  a  youth; 
7  E 


50 


DEATH    OF    COLONEL    CLAY. 


amid  the  horrors  of  camp  life,  he  has  yet  a  heart  big  with  the  noblest  sen 
timents  of  humanity. 

"My  DEAR  SIR: — You  will  no  doubt  have  received,  before  this  can  reach 
you,  the  deeply  distressing  intelligence  of  the  death  of  your  son  in  the 
battle  of  Buena  Vista.  It  is  with  no  wish  of  intruding  upon  the  sanctuary 
of  parental  sorrow,  and  with  no  hope  of  administering  any  consolation  to 
your  wounded  heart,  that  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  addressing  you  these 
>few  lines;  but  I  have  felt  it  a  duty  which  I  owe  to  the  memory  of  the  dis 
tinguished  dead,  to  pay  a  willing  tribute  to  his  many  excellent  qualities, 
and  while  my  feelings  are  still  fresh,  to  express  the  desolation  which  his 
untimely  loss  and  that  of  other  kindred  spirits  has  occasioned. 

"I  had  but  a  casual  acquaintance  with  your  son,  until  he  became  for  a 
time  a  member  of  my  military  family,  and  I  can  truly  say  that  no  one  ever 
won  more  rapidly  upon  my  regard,  or  established  a  more  lasting  claim  to 
my  respect  and  esteem.  Manly  and  honourable  in  every  impulse,  with  no 
feeling  but  for  the  honour  of  the  service  and  of  the  country,  he  gave  every 
assurance  that  in  the  hour  of  need  I  could  lean  with  confidence  upon  his 
.support.  Nor  was  I  disappointed.  Under  the  guidance  of  himself  and  the 
lamented  McKee,  gallantly  did  the  sons  of  Kentucky,  in  the  thickest  of  the 
strife,  uphold  the  honour  of  the  state  and  country. 


COLONEL  MARSHALL  S  SPEECH. 


51 


LIEUTENANT-COLONEL     CLA.T. 


"A  grateful  people  will  do  justice  to  the  memory  of  those  who  fell  on 
that  eventful  day.  But  I  may  be  permitted  to  express  the  bereavement 
which  I  feel  in  the  loss  of  valued  friends.  To  your  son  I  felt  bound  by  the 
strongest  lies  of  private  regard ;  and  when  I  miss  his  familiar  face,  and 
those  of  McKee  and  Hardin,  I  can  say  with  truth,  that  I  feel  no  exultation 
in  our  success." 

We  close  our  sketches  of  General  Taylor  by  the  following  just  tribute 
to  his  abilities  and  integrity  of  character. 

At  a  barbacue  given  to  the  Kentucky  volunteers  at  JefTersontown,  Colonel 
Humphrey  Marshall  delivered  a  speech,  in  the  course  of  which  he  spoke 
in  the  following  terms  of  the  character  of  Old  Rough  and  Ready.  It  may 
be  remarked  that  those  qualities  which  are  so  conspicuous  in  the  character 
of  General  Taylor,  such  as  his  simplicity,  sincerity,  manliness  and  honesty, 
are  the  very  attributes  that  endear  him  to  the  masses.  Nothing  recom 
mends  a  man  more  speedily  to  the  affections  of  the  people  than  the  presence 
of  those  homely  and  old-fashioned  virtues  which  prove  the  sterling  metal 
of  his  nature. 

"My  service  in  Mexico  frequently  brought  me  near  to  General  Taylor, 


52        COLONEL  MARSHALL'S  SPEECH. 

and  I  was  industrious  in  my  examination  of  the  actual  character  of  the 
man  whenever  opportunity  was  presented.  I  have  no  motive  to  deceive 
you,  and  you  must  take  the  impressions  I  received  for  what  they  are  worth. 
If  I  desired  to  express  in  the  fewest  words  what  manner  of  man  General 
Taylor  is,  I  should  say  that,  in  his  manners  and  his  appearance,  he  is  one 
of  the  common  people  of  this  country.  He  might  be  transferred  from  his 
tent  at  Monterey  to  this  assembly,  and  he  would  not  be  remarked  among 
this  crowd  of  respectable  old  farmers  as  a  man  at  all  distinguished  from 
those  around  him.  Perfectly  temperate  in  his  habits,  perfectly  plain  in  his 
dress,  entirely  unassuming  in  his  manners,  he  appears  to  be  an  old  gentle 
man  in  fine  health,  whose  thoughts  are  not  turned  upon  his  personal  ap 
pearance,  and  who  has  no  point  about  him  to  attract  particular  attention. 
In  his  intercourse  with  men,  he  is  free,  frank,  and  manly ;  he  plays  off  none 
of  the  airs  of  some  great  men  whom  I  have  met.  Any  one  may  approach 
him  as  nearly  as  can  be  desired,  and  the  more  closely  his  character  is  ex 
amined  the  greater  beauties  it  discloses. 

"1.  He  is  an  honest  man.  I  do  not  mean  by  that  merely  that  he  does 
not  cheat  or  lie.  I  mean  that  he  is  a  man  that  never  dissembles,  and  who 
scorns  all  disguises.  He  neither  acts  a  part  among  his  friends  for  effect, 
nor  assumes  to  be  what  he  is  not.  Whenever  he  speaks  you  hear  what 
he  honestly  believes;  and,  whether  right  or  wrong,  you  feel  assurance  that 
he  has  expressed  his  real  opinion.  His  dealings  with  men  have  been  of 
the  most  varied  character,  and  I  have  never  heard  his  honest  name  stained 
by  the  breath  of  the  slightest  reproach. 

"  2.  He  is  a  man  of  rare  good  judgment.  By  no  means  possessed  of 
that  brilliancy  of  genius  which  attracts  by  its  flashes,  yet,  like  the  meteor, 
expires  even  while  you  gaze  upon  it;  by  no  means  possessing  that  combi 
nation  of  talent  which  penetrates  instantly  the  abstrusest  subject,  and  mea 
sures  its  length  and  breadth  as  if  by  intuition,  General  Taylor  yet  has  that 
order  of  intellect  which  more  slowly  but  quite  as  surely  masters  all  that  it 
engages,  and  examines  all  the  combinations  of  which  the  subject  is  sus 
ceptible.  When  he  announces  his  conclusions,  you  feel  confident  that  he 
well  understands  the  ground  upon  which  he  plants  himself,  and  you  rest 
assured  that  the  conclusion  is  the  deduction  of  skill  and  sound  sense  faith 
fully  applied  to  the  matter  in  hand.  It  is  this  order  of  mind  which  has 
enabled  him,  unlike  many  other  officers  of  the  army,  to  attend  to  the  wants 
of  his  family,  by  so  using  the  means  at  his  disposal  as  to  surround  himself 
in  his  old  age  with  a  handsome  private  fortune,  and  to  be  blessed  with  an 
almost  perfect  constitution.  I  would  to-day  prefer  his  advice  in  any  matter 
of  private  interest — would  take  his  opinion  as  to  the  value  of  an  estate — 
would  rather  follow  his  suggestions  in  a  scheme  where  property  or  capital 
was  to  be  embarked,  would  pursue  more  confidently  his  counsel  where  the 
management  of  an  army  was  involved,  or  the  true  honour  of  my  country 


CHARACTER  OF  GENERAL  TAYLOR.          53 

was  at  stake,  than  that  of  any  other  man  I  have  ever,  known.  I  regard  his 
judgment  as  being  first-rate  at  every  thing,  from  a  horse-trade  up  to  a  trade 
in  human  life  upon  the  field  of  battle. 

"3.  He  is  a  firm  man  and  possessed  of  great  energy  of  character. 
It  were  a  waste  of  time  to  dwell  upon  these  traits  of  his  character,  for  his 
military  career  has  afforded  such  abundant  examples  of  his  exercise  of 
these  qualities  as  to  render  them  familiar  to  every  citizen  who  has  ever 
read  or  heard  of  the  man.  In  his  army  they  are  daily  exhibited,  and  stand 
conspicuously  displayed  in  every  order  which  emanates  from  his  pen. 

"4.  He  is  a  benevolent  man.  This  quality  has  been  uniformly  displayed 
in  his  treatment  of  the  prisoners  who  have  been  placed  in  his  power  by 
the  vicissitudes  of  war.  No  man  who  had  seen  him  after  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista  as  he  ordered  the  wagons  to  bring  in  the  Mexican  wounded 
from  the  battle-field,  and  heard  him  as  he  at  once  cautioned  his  own  men 
that  the  wounded  were  to  be  treated  with  mercy,  could  doubt  that  he  was 
alive  to  all  the  kinder  impulses  of  our  nature.  The  indiscretions  of  youth 
he  chides  with  paternal  kindness,  yet  with  the  decision  which  forbids  their 
repetition ;  and  the  young  men  of  his  army  feel  that  it  is  a  pleasure  to 
gather  around  him,  because  there  they  are  as  welcome  as  though  they 
visited  the  hearth-stone  of  their  own  home ;  and  they  are  always  as  freely 
invited  to  partake  of  what  he  has  to  offer  as  if  they  were  under  the  roof 
of  a  father.  His  conduct  in  sparing  the  deserters  who  were  captured  at 
Buena  Vista  exhibited  at  the  same  time  in  a  manner  his  benevolence  and 
his  judgment.  'Don't  shoot  them,'  said  he:  'the  worst  punishment  I  will 
inflict  is  to  return  them  to  the  Mexican  army.'  When  Napoleon  said  to 
one  of  his  battalions,  'Inscribe  it  on  their  flag:  No  longer  of  the  army  of 
Italy,'  he  used  an  expression  which  was  deemed  so  remarkable  that  history 
preserved  it  for  the  admiration  of  future  ages  ;  yet  it  was  not  more  forcible 
as  an  illustration  of  his  power  in  touching  the  springs  of  human  action 
than  is  that  of  General  Taylor  illustrative  of  the  manner  in  which  he 
would  make  an  example  for  the  benefit  of  the  army. 

"  5.  He  is  a  man  of  business  habits.  I  never  have  known  General 
Taylor  to  give  up  a  day  to  pleasure.  I  have  never  visited  his  quarters 
without  seeing  evidences  of  the  industry  with  which  he  toiled.  If  his 
talented  adjutant  was  surrounded  with  papers,  so  was  the  general.  And 
though  he  would  salute  a  visitor  kindly,  and  bid  him  with  familiar  grace 
to  amuse  himself  until  he  was  at  leisure,  he  never  would  interrupt  the 
duties  which  his  station  called  him  to  perform.  When  these  were  closed 
for  the  day,  he  seemed  to  enjoy,  to  a  remarkable  degree,  the  vivacity  of 
young  officers,  and  to  be  glad  to  mingle  in  their  society.  As  a  conversa 
tionist,  I  do  not  think  General  Taylor  possesses  great  power.  He  uses  few 
words,  and  expresses  himself  with  energy  and  force,  but  not  fluently.  His 
language  is  select.  I  would  say,  however,  from  the  knowledge  of  the  man, 

E  2 


54 


CHARACTER  OF  GENERAL  TAYLOR. 


that  he  is  entirely  capable  of  producing  any  thing  in  the  shape  of  an 
order  or  letter  which  has  ever  appeared  over  his  signature  ;  and,  in  saying 
so  much,  I  understand  myself  as  asserting  that  he  is  master  of  his  mother 
tongue,  and  can  write  about  as  effectively  and  handsomely  as  he  can  fight. 
Such,  then,  is  the  picture  of  the  man — not  of  the  general — who  won  my 
esteem.  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  eulogizing  men,  and  have  indulged  on 
this  occasion  because  I  desired  to  describe  to  you,  with  the  exactness  of 
truth,  those  qualities  which,  combined  in  General  Taylor,  made  him  appear 
to  me  us  a  first-rate  model  of  a  true  American  character.  Others  will 
dwell  upon  the  chivalry  he  has  so  often  displayed,  and  his  greatness  so 
conspicuously  illustrated  upon  the  field  of  battle.  I  formed  my  ideas  of 
the  man  when  he  was  free  from  duty,  and  had  no  motive  to  appear  in  any 
other  light  than  such  as  was  thrown  upon  him  by  nature,  education,  and 
principle." 


iON.     MILLARD     FILLMOBB. 


LIFE  AND  PUBLIC   SERVICES 


OF 


MILLARD  FILLMORE. 


HE  history  of  Millard  Fillmore  affords 
a  useful  lesson,  as  showing  what  may  be 
accomplished  in  the  face  of  the  greatest 
obstacles,  by  intellect,  aided  and  controlled 
by  energy,  perseverance,  and  strict  inte 
grity,  in  a  public  and  private  capacity. 

His  father,  Nathaniel  Fillmore,  is  the 
son  of  one  of  like  name,  who  served  in 
the  French  war,  and  was  a  true  Whig 
of  the  Revolution,  proving  his  devotion 
to  his  country's  cause  by  gallantly  fighting  as  lieutenant  under  General 
Stark,  in  the  battle  of  Bennington.  He  was  born  at  Bennington,  Vermont, 
in  1771,  and  early  in  life  removed  to  what  is  now  called  Summer  Hill, 
Cayuga  county,  New  York,  where  Millard  was  born,  January  7,  1800. 
He  was  a  farmer,  and  soon  after  lost  all  his  property  by  a  bad  title  to  one 
of  the  military  lots  he  had  purchased.  About  the  year  1802,  he  removed 
to  the  town  of  Sempronius,  now  Niles,  and  lived  there  till  1819,  when  he 
removed  to  Erie  county,  where  he  still  lives,  cultivating  a  small  farm  with 
his  own  hands.  He  was  a  strong  and  uniform  supporter  of  Jefferson, 
Madison,  and  Tompkins,  and  is  now  a  true  Whig. 

8  57 


58  MILLARD    FILLMORE. 

The  narrow  means  of  his  father  deprived  Millard  of  any  advant*v  * 
of  education  beyond  what  were  afforded  by  the  imperfect  and  il]-taugh. 
schools  of  the  county.  Books  were  scarce  and  dear,  and  at  the  age  of 
fifteen,  when  more  favoured  youths  are  far  advanced  in  their  classical 
studies,  or  enjoying  in  colleges  the  benefit  of  well-furnished  libraries, 
young  Fillmore  had  read  but  little  except  his  common  school-books  and 
the  Bible.  At  that  period  he  was  sent  into  the  then  wilds  of  Livingston 
county,  to  learn  the  clothier-trade.  He  remained  there  about  four  months, 
and  was  then  placed  with  another  person  to  pursue  the  same  business  and 
wool-carding  in  the  town  where  his  father  lived.  A  small  village  library, 
which  was  formed  there  soon  after,  gave  him  the  first  means  of  acquiring 
general  knowledge  through  books.  He  improved  the  opportunity  thus 
offered  ;  the  appetite  grew  by  what  it  fed  upon.  The  thirst  for  knowledge 
soon  became  insatiate,  and  every  leisure  moment  was  spent  in  reading. 
Four  years  were  passed  in  this  way,  working  at  his  trade,  and  storing  his 
mind,  during  such  hours  as  he  could  command,  with  the  contents  of  books 
of  history,  biography,  and  travels.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  fortunately 
made  an  acquaintance  with  the  late  Walter  Wood,  Esq.,  whom  many  will 
remember  as  one  of  the  most  estimable  citizens  of  that  county.  Judge 
Wood  was  a  man  of  wealth  and  great  business  capacity ;  he  had  an  ex 
cellent  law  library,  but  did  little  professional  business.  He  soon  saw  that 
under  the  rude  exterior  of  the  clothier's  boy,  were  powers  that  only  required 
proper  development  to  raise  the  possessor  to  high  distinction  and  usefulness, 
and  advised  him  to  quit  his  trade  and  study  law.  In  reply  to  the  objection 
of  a  lack  of  education,  means  and  friends  to  aid  him  in  a  course  of  pro 
fessional  study,  Judge  Wood  kindly  offered  to  give  him  a  place  in  his  office, 
to  advance  money  to  defray  his  expenses,  and  wait  until  success  in  business 
should  furnish  the  means  of  repayment.  The  offer  was  accepted.  The 
apprentice  boy  bought  his  time;  entered  the  office  of  Judge  Wood,  and 
for  more  than  two  years  applied  himself  closely  to  business  and  to  study. 
He  read  law  and  general  literature,  and  studied  and  practised  surveying. 
EARING  he  should  incur  too  large  a  debt  to  his 
benefactor,  he  taught  school  for  three  months  in  the 
year,  and  acquired  the  means  of  partially  support 
ing  himself.  In  the  fall  of  1821,  he  removed  to  the 
county  of  Erie,  and  the  next  spring  entered  a  law 
office  in  Buffalo.  There  he  sustained  himself  by 
teaching  school,  and  continued  his  legal  studies 
untiTthe  spring"bf  1823,  when  he  was  admitted  to  the  Common  Pleas,  and 
commenced  practice  in  the  village  of  Aurora,  where  he  remained  until  1830, 
when  he  again  removed  to  Buffalo,  and  has  continued  to  reside  there  ever 
since. 

His  first  entrance  into  public  life  was  in  January,  1829,  when  he  took 


ELECTED    TO   CONGRESS. 


61 


his  seat  as  a  member  from  Erie  county,  to  which  office  he  was  re-elected 
the  two  following  years. 

His  talents,  integrity,  and  assiduous  devotion  to  public  business,  soon  won 
for  him  the  confidence  of  the  House  in  an  unexampled  degree.  It  was  a 
common  remark  among  the  members,  "If  FILLMORE  says  it  is  right,  we 
will  vote  for  it." 

The  most  important  measure  of  a  general  nature  that  came  up  during 
his  service  in  the  State  Legislature  was,  the  bill  to  abolish  Imprisonment 
for  Debt.  In  behalf  of  that  great  and  philanthropic  measure,  Mr.  FILL- 
MORE  took  an  active  part,  urging  with  unanswerable  arguments  its  justice 
and  expediency,  and,  as  a  member  of  the  committee  on  the  subject,  aiding 
to  perfect  its  details.  That  portion  of  the  bill  relating  to  Justices'  Courts 
was  drafted  by  him,  the  remainder  being  the  work  of  the  Hon.  John  C. 
Spencer.  The  bill  met  with  a  fierce,  unrelenting  opposition  at  every  step 
of  its  progress,  and  to  MILLARD  FILLMORE,  as  much  as  to  any  other  man, 
are  we  indebted,  for  expunging  from  the  statute  book  that  relic  of  a  cruel 
and  barbarous  age,  Imprisonment  for  Debt. 

E  was  elected  to  Congress  in  the  year  1832. 
The  session  of  1833-4  will  long  be  remembered 
as  the  one  in  which  that  system  of  politics, 
known  under  the  comprehensive  name  of  Jack- 
sonism,  was  fully  developed.  He  took  his  seat 
in  the  stormy  session  of  1833-4,  immediately 
succeeding  the  removal  of  the  deposits.  In 
those  days,  the  business  of  the  House  and  de 
bates  were  led  by  old  and  experienced  mem 
bers — new  ones,  unless  they  enjoyed  a  wide 
spread  and  almost  national  reputation,  rarely 
taking  an  active  and  conspicuous  part.  Little 
chance,  therefore,  was  afforded  him  as  a  mem 
ber  of  the  opposition,  young  and  unassuming, 
of  displaying  those  qualities  that  so  eminently 
fit  him  f°r  legislative  usefulness.  But  the  school 
was  one  admirably  qualified  more  fully  to  deve 
lop  and  cultivate  those  powers  which,  under  more  favourable  circum 
stances,  have  enabled  him  to  render  such  varied  and  important  services  to 
his  country.  As  he  has  ever  done  in  all  the  stations  he  has  filled,  he  dis 
charged  his  duty  with  scrupulous  fidelity,  never  omitting,  on  all  proper 
occasions,  any  effort  to  advance  the  interest  of  his  constituents  and  the 
country,  and  winning  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all. 

At  the  close  of  his  term  of  service,  he  resumed  the  practice  of  his  pro 
fession,  which  he  pursued  with  distinguished  reputation  and  success,  until, 
yielding  to  the  public  voice,  he  consented  to  become  a  candidate,  and  was 


62  MILLAUD   FILLMORE. 

re-elected  to  Congress,  in  the  fall  of  1836.  The  remarks  above  made 
in  relation  to  his  service  in  the  Twenty-third  Congress,  will  measurably 
apply  to  his  second  term.  Jacksonism  and  the  Pet  Bank  system  had 
in  the  march  of  the  "  progressive  Democracy,"  given  place  10  Van  Buren 
ism  and  the  Sub-Treasury.  It  was  but  another  step  towards  the  practical 
repudiation  of  old  republican  principles,  and  an  advance  to  the  Locofocoism 
of  the  present  day.  In  this  Congress,  Mr.  Fillmore  took  a  more  active  part 
than  he  had  during  his  first  term,  and  on  the  assembling  of  the  next  Congress, 
to  which  he  was  re-elected  by  a  largely  increased  majority,  he  was  assigned 
a  prominent  place  on  what,  next  to  that  of  Ways  and  Means,  was  justly 
anticipated  would  become  the  most  important  committee  of  the  House — 
that  on  Elections.  It  was  in  this  Congress  that  the  famous  contested  New 
Jersey  case  came  up.  It  would  swell  this  brief  biographical  sketch  to  too 
great  a  length  to  enter  upon  the  details  of  that  case,  and  it  is  the  less 
necessary  to  do  so,  inasmuch  as  the  circumstances  of  the  gross  outrages 
then  perpetrated  by  a  party  calling  itself  republican,  and  claiming  to 
respect  State  Rights,  must  yet  dwell  in  the  recollection  of  every  reader. 

HE  prominent  part  which 
Mr.  Fillmore  took  in  that 
case,  his  patient  investiga 
tion  of  all  its  complicated, 
minute  details,  the  clear, 
convincing  manner  in  which 
he  set  forth  the  facts,  the 
lofty  and  indignant  eloquence 
with  which  he  denounced 
the  meditated  wrong,  all 
strongly  directed  public  attention  to  him  as  one  of  the  ablest  men  of  that 
Congress,  distinguished,  as  it  was,  by  the  eminent  ability  and  statesman 
ship  of  many  of  its  members.  Public  indignation  was  awakened  by  the 
enormity  of  the  outrage,  and  in  that  long  catalogue  of  abuses  and  wrongs, 
which  aroused  a  long-suffering  people  to  action,  and  resulted  in  the  signal 
overthrow  of  a  corrupt  and  insolent  dynasty,  in  1840,  the  New  Jersey  case 
stood  marked  and  conspicuous. 

On  the  assembling  of  the  next  Congress,  to  which  Mr.  Fillmore  was  re- 
elected  by  a  majority  larger  than  was  ever  before  given  in  his  district,  he 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means.  The 
duties  of  that  station,  always  arduous  and  responsible,  were  at  that  time 
peculiarly  so.  A  new  administration  had  come  into  power,  and  found 
public  affairs  in  a  state  of  the  greatest  derangement.  Accounts  had 
been  wrongly  kept,  peculation  of  every  kind  abounded  in  almost  every 
department  of  the  government,  the  revenue  was  inadequate  to  meet  the 
ordinary  expenses,  the  already  large  existing  debt  was  rapidly  swelling  in 


HIS  EFFORTS  IN  CONGRESS.  63 

magnitude,  commerce  and  manufactures  were  depressed,  the  currency  was 
deranged,  banks  were  embarrassed,  and  general  distress  pervaded  the  com 
munity.  To  bring  order  out  of  disorder,  to  replenish  the  national  trea 
sury,  to  provide  means  that  would  enable  the  government  to  meet  the 
demands  against  it,  and  to  pay  off  the  debt,  to  r  ivive  the  industry  of  the 
country,  and  restore  its  wonted  prosperity ;  these  were  the  tasks  devolved 
upon  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means.  To  increase  their  difficulties, 
the  minority,  composed  of  that  party  that  had  brought  the  country  and 
government  into  such  a  condition,  instead  of  aiding  to  repair  the  evil  they 
had  done,  uniformly  opposed  almost  every  means  brought  forward  for 
relief,  and  too  often  their  unavailing  efforts  were  successfully  aided  by  a 
treacherous  Executive.  But  with  an  energy  and  devotion  to  the  public 
weal,  worthy  of  all  admiration,  Mr.  FiJlmore  applied  himself  to  the  task, 
and,  sustained  by  a  majority  whose  enlightened  patriotism  has  rarely  been 
equalled  and  never  surpassed,  succeeded  in  its  accomplishment. 

HE  measures  he  brought  forward,  and  sustained  with 
matchless  ability,  speedily  relieved  the  Government 
from  its  embarrassment,  and  have  fully  justified  the 
most  sanguine  expectations  of  their  benign  influence 
upon  the  country  at  large.  A  new  and  more  accurate 
system  of  keeping  accounts,  rendering  them  clear 
and  intelligible,  was  introduced.  The  favouritism 
and  peculation  which  had  so  long  disgraced  the  departments  and  plundered 
the  Treasury  were  checked  by  the  requisition  of  contracts.  The  credit 
of  the  Government  was  restored,  ample  means  were  provided  for  the  exi 
gencies  of  the  public  service,  and  the  payment  of  the  National  Debt  incurred 
by  the  former  administration.  Commerce  and  manufactures  revived,  and 
prosperity  and  hope  once  more  smiled  upon  the  land.  The  country  has 
too  recently  emerged  from  the  disasters  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  Administration — 
it  yet  too  keenly  feels  the  suffering  it  then  endured,  and  too  justly  appre 
ciates  the  beneficent  and  wonderful  change  that  has  been  wrought,  to  ren 
der  more  than  allusion  to  these  matters  necessary.  The  labour  of  devising, 
explaining,  and  defending  measures  productive  of  such  happy  results  was 
thrown  chiefly  on  Mr.  Fillmore.  He  was  nobly  sustained  by  his  patriotic 
fellow  Whigs ;  but  on  him,  nevertheless,  the  main  responsibility  rested. 

After  his  long  and  severe  labours  in  the  committee  room— labours 
sufficiently  arduous  to  break  down  any  but  one  of  an  iron  constitution, — 
sustained  by  a  spirit  that  nothing  could  conquer,  he  was  required  to  give 
his  unremitting  attention  to  the  House,  to  make  any  explanation  that  might 
be  asked,  and  be  ready  with  a  complete  and  triumphant  refutation  of  every 
cavil  or  objection  that  the  ingenious  sophistry  of  a  factious  minority  could 
devise.  All  this,  too,  was  required  to  be  done  with  promptness,  clearness, 
dignity,  and  temper.  For  the  proper  performance  of  these  varied  duties, 


64 


MILLARD    FILLMORE. 


few  men  are  more  happily  qualified  than  Mr.  Fillmore.  At  that  fortunate 
age,  when  the  physical  and  intellectual  powers  are  displayed  in  the  highest 
perfection,  and  the  hasty  impulses  of  youth,  without  any  loss  of  its  vigor, 
are  brought  under  control  of  large  experience  in  public  affairs,  with  a  mind 
capable  of  descending  to  minute  details,  as  well  as  conceiving  a  grand 
system  of  national  policy,  calm  and  deliberate  in  judgment,  self-possessed 
and  fluent  in  debate,  of  dignified  presence,  never  unmindful  of  the  courtesies 
becoming  social  and  public  intercourse,  and  of  political  integrity  unimpeach 
able,  he  was  admirably  fitted  for  the  post  of  leader  of  the  27th  Congress. 

In  1844  he  was  selected  as  the  Whig  candidate  for  governor  in  New 
York,  but  in  consequence  of  the  Barnburners  and  Old  Hunkers  uniting 
their  support  upon  the  late  Silas  Wright,  he  failed  to  be  elected.  Confi 
dent,  however,  that  he  could  command  the  strongest  vote  in  New  York,  the 
Whigs  again  selected  him  as  their  candidate  for  Comptroller,  in  1847,  and 
succeeded  in  electing  him  by  an  unprecedented  majority. 

Such  was  the  boy,  and  such  is  the  man  whom  the  Whigs  present  as 
their  candidate  for  Vice-President.  In  every  station  in  which  he  has  been 
placed,  he  has  shown  himself  "  honest,  capable,  and  faithful  to  the  Consti 
tution."  He  is  emphatically  one  of  the  people.  For  all  that  he  has  and 
is,  he  is  indebted,  under  God,  to  his  own  exertions. 


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